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gale  ^(centennial  publication?! 

LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF 
LANGUAGE 


gale  'Bicentennial  publications 

With  the  approval  of  the  President  and  Fellows 
of  Yale  University,  a  series  of  volumes  has  been 
prepared  by  a  number  of  the  Professors  and  In- 
structors, to  be  issued  in  connection  with  the 
Bicentennial  Anniversary,  as  a  partial  indica- 
tion of  the  character  of  the  studies  in  which  the 
"University  teachers  are  engaged. 

This  series    of  volumes    is    respectfully   dedicated  to 

<SraDuate0  of  tlje 


LECTURES 


ON  THE 


STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 


BY 

HANNS    OERTEL 

Professor  in  Yale  University 


NEW  YORK:  CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 

LONDON:   EDWARD  ARNOLD 

1902 


Copyright,  1901, 
BY  YALE  UNIVERSITY 


Published,  October,  /go/ 


UNIVERSITY   PRESS   •    JOHN   WILSON 
AND  SON    •     CAMBRIDGE,    U.S.A. 


TO 

THE    MEMORY 

OF 

WILLIAM   DWIGHT   WHITNEY 
1827  —  1853  —  1894 


PREFACE 

THESE  Lectures  are  here  printed  substantially  as  they 
have  been  delivered  during  the  last  three  years.  They  are 
intended  not  to  serve  as  a  Manual  or  Handbook  of  Lin- 
guistic Science  or  to  take  the  place  of  the  larger  works 
of  Delbriick,  v.  d.  Gabelentz,  Paul,  and  Wundt,  but  to 
familiarize  the  student  with  a  select  number  of  the  most 
important  problems  of  general  linguistics,  to  present  these 
in  their  historical  setting,  to  introduce  him  to  the  literature 
on  these  subjects,  and,  as  occasion  may  offer,  to  point  out 
opportunities  for  further  research.  This  will  account  for  a 
certain  unevenness  in  the  treatment  of  the  various  topics. 
The  syntactical  problems  which  could  be  touched  only  in 
the  briefest  possible  way  in  Lecture  V  are  treated  by  an 
abler  hand  in  another  volume  of  this  Series  (E.  P.  Morris, 
On  Principles  and  Methods  in  Latin  Syntax).  Where 
bibliographical  lists  existed,  a  reference  to  the  place  where 
they  might  be  found  seemed  preferable  to  loading  the 
book  with  a  reprint  of  titles. 

On  the  psychological  side  I  am  largely  indebted  to 
Wundt's  Grundziige  der  physiologischen  Psychologic. 
The  first  two  volumes  of  his  Volkerpsychologie  (dealing 
with  the  psychology  of  language)  appeared  when  these 
lectures  were  finished  in  manuscript.  It  is  a  matter  of 
great  regret  to  me  that  I  could  not  use  this  important  con- 

ix 


PREFACE 

tribution  to  Linguistic  Science  as  much  as  I  should  have 
liked.  (But  see  p.  198  and  p.  211.)  In  Lectures  III  and 
IV  the  Old  English  examples  are  taken  from  Sweet,  the 
Greek  and  Latin  ones  chiefly  from  Brugmann's  Grundriss. 
Some  views  regarding  certain  syntactical  problems  (in 
Lecture  V)  were  gradually  and  jointly  elaborated  in  con- 
versations and  discussions  with  my  colleague,  Professor 
Morris.  The  last  section  of  paragraph  fifteen  (p.  316) 
should  be  credited  to  him.  For  the  rest  the  footnotes  will 
show  that,  in  Goethe's  words, 

bei  den  Besten 

Sass  ich  unter  zuf riedenen  Gasten ; 
Ihr  Frohmahl  hab'  ich  unverdrossen 
Nieinals  bestohlen,  immer  genossen. 

Finally  I  discharge  a  pleasant  duty  in  thanking  Professor 
Morris  and  Professor  Goodell,  who  by  suggestions  and 
assistance  in  seeing  this  volume  through  the  press  have 
placed  me  under  great  obligation. 


HANNS  OERTEL. 


YALE  UNIVERSITY, 
NEW  HAVEN,  CONN. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


LECTURE  I 

THE    LEADING   IDEAS    OF  LINGUISTIC    SCIENCE 

DURING  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  .     .     .      1-86 

The  weakness  of  descriptive  definitions  (§  1).  What  constitutes 
the  character  of  a  science  and  gives  it  unity?  (§  2).  New  tenden- 
cies in  scientific  work  go  parallel  with  new  epochs  in  the  history  of 
civilization  (§  3). 

The  two  chief  tendencies  (synthetic  and  analytic)  in  the  his- 
torical sciences  (§4).  THE  SYNTHETIC  CONCEPTION  OF  PHILOL- 
OGY, REPRESENTED  BY  WOLF'S  "  ALTERTHUMSWISSENSCHAFT  " 

(§  5) :  Its  connection  with  the  neo-humanistic  movement  as  an 
aesthetic  reaction  (§  6).  Wolf's  conception  of  Philology  as  biog- 
raphy of  a  nation  (§  7).  Characteristics  of  Wolf's  Philology : 
\_A~\  Its  chief  interest  lies  not  in  the  single  objects  or  in  the  laws 
which  shape  them,  but  in  the  synthesis  of  the  objects  into  one 
whole  (§  8).  [B]  It  is  an  art  (rex«"?)»  because  it  is  a  definite  kind 
of  p.ifj.r](ns  (§  9).  The  need  of  perspective  (§  10),  and  of  sub- 
ordination of  parts  for  artistic  presentation  (§  11).  The  two  sides 
of  Wolf's  Philology;  the  nature  and  the  demands  of  the  public  to 
which  it  is  addressed  (§12).  Minor  difficulties  in  Wolf's  Philology 
(§  13).  The  chief  difficulties  of  Wolfs  Philology:  it  demands  the 
union  of  the  critical  and  the  artistic  qualities  in  the  same  individ- 
ual (§  14)  and  the  assimilation  of  a  vast  and  heterogeneous  mass 
of  material  (§  15).  The  danger  of  disintegration  (§  16). 

THE  ANALYTICAL  METHOD  APPLIED  TO  THE  HISTORICAL 
SCIENCES  :  Criticism  and  hermeneutics  are  not  an  end  in  them- 
selves, but  preparatory  to  both  synthetic  and  analytic  treatment 
(§17).  The  nature  of  the  analytic  method;  its  difference  from 
Wolf's  synthesis  (§  18).  Various  aspects  of  the  analytical  treat- 
ment of  language :  [A  ]  G.  Hermann's  philosophical  and  deductive 
attitude  (§  19).  [.B]  The  historical  method  of  J.  Grimm.  His 
relation  to  Savigny.  He  arranges  the  facts  of  language  in  histori- 

xi 


CONTENTS 

LECTURE  I  — continued 

cal  sequence  ;  he  deprecates  the  introduction  of  general,  abstract 
ideas ;  he  conceives  of  language  as  a  social  creation ;  he  emphasizes 
its  natural  growth  and  the  importance  of  dialects  (§  20).  Promi- 
nence is  given  by  Grimm  to  the  historical  development  of  sounds 
(phonology)  (§  21).  Raumer  begins  the  study  of  the  physiological 
mechanism  of  speech-sounds  (phonetics).  Briicke  and  Merkel 
(§22).  [C]  The  introduction  of  Sanskrit  and  the  comparison  of 
cognate  languages :  [i]  F.  Schlegel's  comparison  of  languages 
supposed  to  be  cognate  in  order  to  prove  their  identity  of  origin 
(§  23).  [ii]  Bopp's  morphological  comparison  of  cognate  lan- 
guages in  order  to  discover  the  origin  of  inflection.  The  impor- 
tance of  such  comparison  for  the  systematizing  of  the  grammatical 
data  of  the  individual  languages  (§  24).  [iii]  Schleicher's  attempt 
at  a  comparative  reconstruction  of  the  Indo-European  parent  lan- 
guage (§  25).  A  comparison  of  this  comparative  treatment  with 
the  historical  treatment ;  their  similarity  of  aim  and  difference  of 
method  (§  26).  \D\  The  comparison  of  languages  without  refer- 
ence to  genealogical  relationship.  W.  v.  Humboldt's  comparative 
method.  H.  Post's  application  of  this  method  to  ethnological 
jurisprudence.  The  double  meaning  of  the  term  "  Comparative 
Philology."  Schleicher's  application  of  this  method  to  phonetics 
(§27).  Comparison  as  a  substitute  for  experimentation  (§  28). 
\_E~\  Emancipation  of  grammar  from  philosophy  and  affiliation  of 
Linguistics  with  the  natural  sciences  (§  29).  Reasons  for  connect- 
ing Linguistics  with  the  natural  sciences:  [ij  Their  increasing 
prominence  and  strictness  of  method  (§  30).  [ii]  The  growing 
preponderance  of  the  formal  side  (phonetics)  and  the  disregard 
of  the  semantic  side  (syntax)  (§  31).  [iiij  The  conception  of 
language  as  an  independent  organism  (§  32).  [iv]  Figurative  ex- 
pressions were  taken  literally  (§  33).  [W]  The  psychological 
aspect  of  linguistic  facts:  [i]  Steinthal's  psychological  treatment 
of  language.  His  relation  to  Humboldt.  Humboldt's  "inner 
speech  form."  Steinthal's  relation  to  Herbart  (§  34).  [ii]  The 
psychological  element  in  the  neo-grammarian  movement :  Analogy 
as  a  methodological  principle.  Whitney  and  Scherer  (§  35). 
[iii]  The  beginnings  of  semantics.  Reisig's  lexicographical  and 
Benary's  syntactical  aspect  of  semantics  (§  36).  [iv]  The  in- 
creasing importance  of  syntax  which,  divorced  from  logic,  becomes 
psychological  (§  37).  [G]  The  social  aspect  of  language  :  Lazarus 
and  Steinthal's  "  Vblkerpsychologie."  The  nature  of  the  "  social 
psyche  "  and  of  social  cooperation  (§  38).  The  problems  of  lin- 
guistic science  are  both  individual  and  social.  Uniformity  and 

xii 


CONTENTS 

LECTURE   I  — continued 

regularity  of  linguistic  facts.  The  freedom  of  the  individual. 
Psychical  heredity  is  made  possible  through  language  (§  39).  The 
relation  of  Linguistics  to  Psychology  (§  40).  On  the  help  to  be 
derived  in  the  study  of  speech  from  kindred  phenomena,  viz.,  the 
development  of  speech  in  children,  gesture  language,  and  writing 
(§41). 

LECTURE  II 

ON  THE  CLASSIFICATION  OF  SIMILAR  SPEECH 
INTO  DIALECTS  AND  LANGUAGES  AND 
ON  THE  NATURE  OF  INFERRED  PARENT 
LANGUAGES 87-133 

The  meanings  of  the  term  dialect  as  used  by  normative  gram- 
mar (§  1).  The  place  of  normative  grammar;  its  canons;  the 
difference  between  normative  and  historical  grammar  (§  2).  The 
question  of  dialect-formation  as  a  dynamic  and  as  a  static  problem 
(§  3).  How  does  the  concept  "dialect "  originate?  (§  4).  Asso- 
ciative, ethnological  elements  in  the  concept  "dialect"  (§5). 
Objective  and  subjective  methods  of  investigation.  The  differ- 
ence between  sensation  and  stimulus  (§  6).  The  characteristics 
of  subjective  knowledge  (§  7).  Methods  of  classification;  dia- 
lectal boundary  lines  (§  8).  Classification  by  types.  Ideal  and 
concrete  types  (§  9).  Any  momentary  dialectal  utterance  of  any 
adult  member  of  a  dialectal  community  may  be  taken  as  typical, 
average  dialectal  utterance  ;  dialect-forms  are  concrete  types  and 
possess  perceptual  existence  (§  10).  The  term  "dialect"  means 
subjective  identity  of  speech ;  the  method  of  ascertaining  whether 
variations  are  subjectively  perceived  or  not  (§11).  Language- 
forms  are  ideal  types  and  do  not  possess  perceptual  existence 
(§12).  Is  the  classification  of  speech  into  dialects  inexact?  Is 
it  wholly  arbitrary  ?  The  historical  element  (§13). 

The  reconstruction  of  parent  languages.  The  difference  be- 
tween the  Indo-European  Parent  Language  as  at  present  recon- 
structed and  that  of  Schleicher  (§  14).  Investigation  of  the  method 
of  reconstruction  (§  15).  The  difficulties  of  reconstruction: 
[i]  The  unequal  length  of  development  of  the  historical  languages 
which  form  the  basis  of  the  reconstruction  (§  10).  [ii]  The 
absence  of  chronological  data  (§17).  [iii]  Universality  is  not  a 
proof  of  the  antiquity  of  a  sound  change.  Schleicher's  theory  of 
the  spread  of  the  Indo-Europeans.  Schuchardt's  and  J.  Schmidt's 

xiii 


CONTENTS 

LECTURE  II  —  continued 

"  wave  "  theory.  The  theory  of  gradual  expansion  (§  18).  The 
impossibility  of  reaching  a  Parent  Language  which  is  not  split  up 
into  dialects  (§19).  Indo-European  forms  reconstructed  by  the 
comparative  method  cannot  lay  claim  to  perceptual  reality.  The 
real  value  of  such  reconstruction  lies  in  furnishing  formulae  for  the 
arrangement  and  classification  of  the  forms  of  related  languages 
(§  20).  The  bearing  of  this  on  prehistoric  paleontology  (§  21). 

LECTURE  III 

CHANGES    IN    LANGUAGE:    I.    IMITATIVE    AND 

ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 134-188 

The  dynamic  problem  of  historical  changes  (both  in  form  and 
in  meaning)  in  language  (§  1).  Preliminary  remarks  concerning 
linguistic  change  in  general :  [.4]  All  changes  in  speech  are  not 
alike  in  origin  (§  2).  The  distinction  between  primary  and 
secondary  changes.  Primary  (original)  changes  originate  in  the 
individual,  secondary  (imitative)  changes  are  adopted  by  the  in- 
dividual. The  causes  of  a  linguistic  change  can  be  studied  only 
where  that  change  is  primary;  in  secondary  changes  reasons  for 
their  adoption  must  be  sought.  The  role  of  imitation  in  society. 
Instances  of  imitative-  change  in  language.  Fashion  in  dress  and 
speech;  how  far  is  the  individual  free?  (§3).  [B]  Analogical 
changes.  Analogy  as  intra-individual  imitation  (§  4).  The  basis 
of  all  analogical  change  is  association  (§  5).  The  process  of  asso- 
ciation psychologically  considered  (§  6).  Current  terminology 
embraces  in  the  term  ' '  analogy-formation "  the  results  both  of 
"associative  interference"  and  of  "analogical  creation"  (§7). 
Psychological  division  of  associations  into  associations  by  sound 
and  associations  by  sense.  Difficulty  of  distinguishing  between 
"intrinsic"  and  "  extrinsic  "  associations  (§  8).  Associations  by 
function  (§9).  Analogy  formations  based  upon  association  by 
sense.  Formation  of  congeneric  groups  in  the  Bantu  languages. 
Bloomfield's  adaptation  of  suffixes  in  congeneric  classes  (§10). 
The  analogical  creation  of  new  members  in  a  congeneric  group. 
Psychological  difference  between  "analogical  creation"  and  "asso- 
ciative interference  "  (§  11).  Simple  and  complex  (proportional) 
analogical  creations.  The  difficulty  of  distinguishing  on  the  basis 
of  linguistic  data  between  "  analogical  creation  "  and  "  associative 
interference  "  (§  12).  An  association  by  sense  alone  rarely  leads 
to  phonetic  alterations.  For  these  an  additional  partial  similarity 

xiv 


CONTENTS 

LECTURE  III  —  continued 

of  form  is  necessary.  Psychological  reason  for  this.  The  process 
of  levelling  in  language  (§  13).  Associative  interference  of  syn- 
onymous words  or  phrases.  Contamination.  Its  relation  to  other 
kinds  of  associative  interference  (§14).  Contamination  in  the 
structure  of  grammatical  paradigms.  Composite  inflection  (Ost- 
hoff's  "  Suppletivwesen ").  Curtius,  Tobler,  Heerdegen,  and 
Osthoff  on  composite  inflection.  Its  causes :  [a]  semantic  defec- 
tiveness,  [&]  formal  defectiveness,  [c]  associative  fusion  of  syn- 
onyms (§15).  The  association  of  words  belonging  to  the  same 
phrase  (§  16).  The  semantic  effects  of  association  by  sound. 
Popular  etymology.  Similarity  of  form  may  lead  to  functional 
assimilation  [§17]. 


LECTURE  IV 

CHANGES   IN    LANGUAGE:  II.  PHONETIC   CHANGE 

189-273 

Phonetic  changes  which  are  neither  ' '  imitative  "  nor  "  analogi- 
cal" (§  1).  "  Original"  phonetic  changes  take  place  either  dur- 
ing the  process  of  speech  production  and  in  the  same  individual, 
or  in  the  transmission  of  speech  from  one  individual  to  another. 
The  latter  are  due  either  to  auricular  perception  of  speech-sounds 
or  to  the  manner  of  their  reproduction  (§  2).  The  difference 
between  immediate  and  ultimate  causes  of  phonetic  change  (§  3). 
The  ultimate  causes  of  phonetic  change :  [i]  Climatic  and  geo- 
graphical influence ;  race  mixture  (§  4).  [ii]  Anatomical  changes 
in  the  organs  of  speech  (§  5).  [iii]  Modifications  in  the  cerebral 
centres  (§  6). 

THE  IMMEDIATE  CAUSES  OF  PHONETIC  CHANGE:  [4]  The 
influence  of  social  convention  (Wundt) ;  physiognomic  changes 
(Benfey)  (§  7).  \_R]  Mechanical  changes  (§8):  Any  accelera- 
tion in  the  speed  of  a  series  of  movements  impairs  the  nicety  of 
their  co-ordination.  Losses  due  to  increase  of  speed  (§  9).  The 
theory  of  economy  of  effort  (§  10).  Increase  of  speed  leads  to  the 
addition  of  sounds.  Lento  forms  and  Allegro  forms.  Anaptyxis 
and  svarabhakti.  Syllabic  syncope  (§11).  Are  words  worn  by 
usage  ?  (§  12).  The  alleged  discarding  of  "  useless  "  sounds  (§  ]  3). 
The  Germanic  permutation  of  mutes  ( "  Lautverschiebung "). 
Criticism  of  Wundt's  explanation  (§  14).  The  possible  influence  of 
an  increase  in  expiratory  force  on  the  Pre-germanic  mutes  (§  15). 
Changes  in  stressed  and  unstressed  syllables  (§  16).  The  influ- 

XV 


CONTENTS 

LECTURE  IV  —  continued 

ence  of  pitch  accent.  The  Indo-European  ablaut  e  —  o  (§17). 
[C]  Psychical  changes:  [i]  The  substitution  of  a  habitual  sound 
combination  for  an  unfamiliar  one.  Anaptyxis  (§18).  [ii] 
Changes  due  to  the  interference  of  one  element  of  a  word  with 
another  element  of  the  same  word,  owing  to  their  simultaneous  pres- 
ence in  consciousness.  Steinthal's  "  schwingende  Vorstellungen." 
Transpositive  repetition  of  a  sound.  Proleptic  and  metaleptic 
transpositions  of  a  sound.  Complete  and  partial  assimilations. 
"Umlaut "  (§  19).  Dissimilations.  Dissimilatory  loss  of  a  sound ; 
Strieker's  attempt  at  a  psychological  explanation  of  it  (§20). 
[iii]  Compensative  lengthening  (§  21).  [Z>]  Changes  which  take 
place  in  the  transmission  of  language  from  one  individual  to 
another  (§  22) :  [i]  Changes  due  to  defective  perception  by  the 
ear  in  the  transmission  of  speech  to  children.  Partial  sound  deaf- 
ness. An  "  acoustic  sound  basis  "  should  be  assumed  parallel  to 
the  physiological  "basis  of  articulation."  The  loss  of  inaudible 
movements  (§  23).  The  influence  of  spelling  on  pronunciation. 
The  acquisition  of  a  foreign  idiom  through  ear  and  eye  (§  24). 
[ii]  Changes  made  by  children  in  reproducing  speech-sounds. 
Compensatory  articulations  and  their  effect  on  the  future  develop- 
ment of  sounds.  Variability  in  articulation  of  the  adult  as  a 
factor  in  sound  change  (§  25).  [iii]  Changes  in  the  reproduction 
of  sounds  by  foreigners  (§  26).  Speech-mixture  as  an  explanation 
of  the  differences  in  the  Indo-European  languages.  Ascoli's  proofs 
for  "  ethnological  sound  changes."  The  difficulty  of  meeting 
Ascoli's  requirements  hi  the  case  of  the  prehistoric  Indo-European 
languages.  Hempl's  discussion  of  the  influence  of  race-mixture 
on  language.  Ratzel  on  the  mechanism  of  migration  and  coloni- 
zation. The  process  of  "  infiltration."  The  origin  of  "  contact 
languages."  The  present  Indo-European  languages  may  be 
survivals  of  such  contact  languages  (§  27). 

THE  NATURE  OP  PHONETIC  LAWS.  The  difference  of  Les- 
kien's  and  Curtius'  views  regarding  phonetic  law.  The  neo-gram- 
marians  insisted  on  a  causal  explanation  of  all  exceptions,  but  did 
not  demand  such  an  explanation  for  the  phonetic  "laws."  Most 
phonetic  laws  are  formulaic  statements  of  observed  regularities  in 
phonetic  development  and  not  statements  of  the  observed  se- 
quence of  two  phenomena  which  stand  to  each  other  in  the  rela- 
tion of  cause  and  effect  (§  28).  The  neo-grammarians  contrast 
phonetic  laws  as  the  physiological  element  of  linguistic  changes 
with  analogy  formations  as  the  psychological  element.  The 
mechanical  conception  of  phonetic  laws  is  based  upon  the  regu- 

xvi 


CONTENTS 

LECTURE  IV  —  continued 

larity  of  phonetic  changes,  not  upon  their  nature.  The  necessity 
of  recognizing  regularities  which  are  not  physiological  (mechani- 
cal) but  psychological  (social)  (§  29).  The  degree  of  uniformity 
of  sound  changes  in  the  spoken  language  (§  30).  The  reason  for 
relative  uniformity  of  most  sound  changes  is  not  a  simultaneous 
change  in  the  articulations  of  the  members  of  a  linguistic  com- 
munity but  social  imitation.  The  spread  of  phonetic  changes  as 
of  all  other  linguistic  change  rests  on  a  psychological  basis.  Im- 
itation as  a  conservative  and  as  a  progressive  factor  (§  31).  The 
explanation  of  the  phenomena  summarized  in  the  "  phonetic 
laws  "  of  our  grammars  is  to  be  sought  in  general  psychological  or 
physical  laws  (§  32). 


LECTURE  V 

CHANGES  IN  LANGUAGE:  III.  SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

274-329 

Every  linguistic  utterance  must  be  examined  (1)  with  respect 
to  its  phonetic  form  (morphological  aspect),  and  (2)  with  respect 
to  its  significance  (semantic  aspect).  What  is  linguistic  form  ? 
The  means  of  linguistic  expression  (§  1).  The  hearer  starts  with 
the  form,  the  speaker  with  the  meaning.  The  study  of  the  speech 
content  in  relation  to  the  linguistic  form  with  which  it  appears 
associated  is  the  province  of  semasiology  (§  2).  Analysis  by  the 
speaker  of  a  composite  idea  into  elements.  The  grammatical 
"sentence  "  is  the  linguistic  reflex  of  such  an  analysis.  The  syn- 
thesis of  the  hearer  (§  3).  What  calls  for  expression  in  language? 
\_A~\  Things,  qualities,  actions,  and  states.  Names  and  roots. 
The  difference  between  logical  and  grammatical  categories  (§  4). 
A  compound  idea  expressed  by  modifications  of  one  name  (§  5). 
[5]  The  attitude  of  the  speaker.  Its  expression  by  inde- 
pendent words  or  as  modifications  of  "names"  (§  6).  [C]  The 
relation  of  the  members  of  an  utterance  to  each  other  (§  7).  The 
polysynthetic  character  of  the  Indo-European  languages  and  its 
consequences.  The  absence  of  a  pure  casus  nominativus.  The  im- 
personal verbs  as  a  compromise  between  grammar  (Indo-European 
and  Semitic)  and  logic  (§  8).  The  terms  "  meaning  "  and  "  func- 
tion "  are  essentially  synonymous,  though  the  former  is  current 
with  reference  to  independent  units,  the  latter  usually  refers  to 
significant  parts  of  such  units.  The  dynamic  problems  of  lexicog- 
raphy and  syntax  are  the  same  (§9).  The  difference  between 

xvii 


CONTENTS 

LECTURE   V  —  continued 

logical  and  psychological  treatment  of  semantic  problems  (§10). 
The  composite  nature  of  the  psychical  contents  of  words  (§  11). 
The  emotional  element  in  words.  Its  sources.  Its  effect.  Taboo 
on  words.  Changes  and  national  differences  in  the  valuation  of 
words  (§  12).  The  unification  of  the  composite  psychical  content 
of  a  word  by  subordinating  all  elements  to  one  dominant  element. 
The  variability  of  this  dominant  element.  Words  are  not  felt  to 
be  descriptive  of  the  things  for  which  they  stand.  The  original 
process  of  naming.  The  bearing  of  etymology  on  lexicography ; 
"  linguistic"  and  "philological"  lexicography  (§  13).  DIVISIONS 
OF  SEMANTIC  CHANGE:  [A~\  Oscillation  resulting  from  the 
variability  of  the  dominant  element.  Devices  for  fixing  the  domi- 
nant element  (§  14).  [.B]  The  fusion  of  two  adjacent  concepts 
into  one,  accompanied  by  the  loss  of  the  name  of  either  concept. 
This  is  a  process  of  abbreviation.  Change  in  the  semantic  value 
of  words  due  to  a  redistribution  of  the  elements  of  the  larger  com- 
pound idea  over  the  two  component  names  (§  15).  [C]  The  dis- 
solution of  percepts.  The  change  from  synthetic  (inflectional) 
structure  to  analytic  structure.  The  progress  from  particular  to 
general  ideas  and  its  reflex  in  the  earlier  and  later  meaning  of 
"roots."  The  difference  between  indistinct  notions  and  general 
concepts  (§  16).  [D]  Semantic  changes  due  to  associative  inter- 
ference (§  17).  [.E]  Semantic  changes  due  to  transfer.  The  use  of 
concrete  terms  for  abstract  ideas.  The  transfer  of  terms  from  one 
sense  sphere  to  another  (§  18).  The  shifting  of  sense  by  a  series 
of  semantic  changes.  Changes  in  the  meaning  of  one  word 
frequently  disturb  other  words  which  are  in  some  way  connected 
with  it  (§19). 

INDEX   .  333 


xviii 


LECTURES 
ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 


LECTURES 


THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 


LECTURE   I 

THE  LEADING  IDEAS   OF  LINGUISTIC   SCIENCE 
DUEING  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY 

X  IT  1  is  a  common  method  to  define  a  science  by 
enumerating  and  describing  the  objects  with  which 
it  deals,  and  (in  a  manner  not  unlike  that  of  an  actio 
finium  regundorum  in  Roman  law)  by  establishing 

1  My  plan  was  to  sketch  in  this  first  lecture  the  beginnings  of  the 
most  important  currents  of  linguistic  thought  during  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury. The  relative  importance  of  these  currents  has  been  judged  accord- 
ing to  their  bearing  upon  the  linguistic  investigations  and  problems  of 
our  own  time.  I  have  endeavored  to  seize  an  idea  not  when  it  occurred 
absolutely  for  the  first  time  (the  germs  of  almost  all  the  leading  ideas 
are  much  older  than  the  century  past),  but  where  it  appeared  for  the 
first  time  in  such  a  shape  as  to  exercise  some  effect  upon  the  trend  of 
investigation.  Many  ideas  have  been  advanced  at  an  unfavorable  junc- 
ture and  left  no  impress  whatever,  while  these  same  ideas  advanced 
again  at  some  later  point  (often  independently)  have  been  received  with 
enthusiasm.  Again,  a  new  idea  being  once  advanced  and  having  gained 
acceptance,  space  forbade  the  tracing  out  of  its  subsequent  history  in  detail. 
A  large  mass  of  work  of  great  value  for  the  history  of  the  study  of 
language  is  thus  necessarily  omitted,  for,  as  a  rule,  a  new  idea  gains  in 
importance  and  solidity  by  the  careful  elaboration  of  later  scholars. 
Nowhere  has  it  been  my  purpose  to  characterize  investigators  (in  the 
biographical  fashion  of  Achelis'  Moderne  Volkerkuude),  but  to  trace 
what  appeared  to  be  leading  ideas. 
1  1 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

boundary  lines  between  it  and  its  neighbors.  Such  a 
method  is  unsatisfactory,1  because  it  attempts  a  separa- 
tion which  in  reality  does  not  exist,  and  which,  if  carried 
out  in  practice,  would  necessarily  result  in  very  serious 
disadvantages.  For  how  often  the  same  object  or  phe- 
nomenon is  treated  by  more  than  one  science.  Theseus, 
we  are  told,  erected  upon  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth  a 
column  bearing  upon  one  side  the  inscription :  "  Here  is 
the  Peloponnesus  and  not  Attica,"  and  upon  the  oppo- 
site side:  "Here  is  Attica  and  not  the  Peloponnesus." 
But  no  scientific  investigator  may  safely  imitate  him, 
for  the  very  complexity  of  most  objects  which  come 
under  his  observation  forces  him  to  concentrate  upon 
them  all  the  light  from  whatever  quarter  he  may  have 
to  seek  it.  The  secret  of  the  success  of  one  of  the  fore- 
most Greek  archaeologists  2  lay  to  a  great  extent  in  his 
thorough  training  in  architecture.  The  investigators  of 
literature  and  of  political  economy  are  equally  interested 
in  the  Homeric  poems.3  The  study  of  Goethe  and  of 
Rousseau  owes  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  pen  of  a 
physician,4  and  the  requirements  for  the  successful  in- 

1  Cf.  e.  g.  Heeren,  Geschichte  des  Stadiums  der  Klassischen  Litteratur 
(1797),  Einleitung,  §  1,  vol.  I,  p.  1.  — L.  Lange,  Kleine  Schriften  (1887), 
p.  7  (in  his  inaugural  address,  1855).  —  Curtius,  Philologie  und  Sprach- 
wissenschaft  (1862),  p.  3. —  W.Arnold,  Ansiedelungen  und  Wanderungen 
deutscher  Stamme  (1874-5),  p.  6.  —  Scherer,  Jenaer  Litteratur  Zeitung 
(1876),  III,  p.  472  =  Kleine  Schriften,  I,  p.  458.  —  Poehlmann,  Aus  Alter- 
tum  und  Gegenwart  (1895),  p.  34. 

2  Dorpfeld. 

8  Poehlmann,  Die  Feldgemeinschaft  bei  Homer,  in  Zt.  f.  Sozial-  und 
Wirtschaftsgeschichte,  1893  =  Aus  Altertum  u.  Gegenwart,  (1895),  p.  105  ; 
Znr  geschichtlicheu  Beurteilung  Homers,  in  Sybel's  Historische  Zt., 
1894  =  Aus  Altertnm  u.  Gegenwart,  (1895)  p.  56. 

*  P.  J.  Mobius,  tfber  das  Pathologische  bei  Goethe  (1898)  QCf.  the 
reviews  in  Litterarisches  Centralblatt  (1898),  col.  1902,  and  in  Zt.  f.  Psy- 
chologie  und  Physiologic  der  Sinnesorgane,  XX  (1899),  p.  221]  and  the 
same  author's  J.  J.  Rousseau's  Krankheitsgeschichte  (1889).  —  Cf.  a 

2 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

terpretation  of  the  military  commentaries  of  Caesar,  of 
the  medical  treatises  of  Hippocrates  or  the  Thucydidean 
description  of  the  plague  are  obvious  to  every  one. 

True  specialization  consists  in  making  all  information 
of  whatever  kind  contribute  toward  a  fuller  under- 
standing of  the  one  object  under  investigation.1 

But  quite  apart  from  being  unsatisfactory  and  often 
harmful  for  practical  purposes,  this  method,  theoreti- 
cally also,  suffers  from  an  inherent  and  incurable  weak- 
ness.2 Such  a  definition,  to  be  exact  and  exhaustive, 
must  consist  in  a  repetition  of  all  the  main  results  of  a 
science.  It  necessarily  presupposes  these  results 
already  achieved.  These  it  sets  out  to  systematize. 
Thus,  as  Taine3  has  admirably  put  it,  un  systeme  est 
une  explication  de  V ensemble  et  indique  une  ceuvre  faite* 
Sciences,  however,  are  living  and  constantly  developing. 
They  show  the  same  lack  of  symmetry  in  their  develop- 
ment which  is  the  characteristic  sign  of  an  organism 
during  the  period  of  its  growth.  To  defy  codification 
is  the  sign  of  a  youthful  science  as  it  is  the  sign  of 
a  youthful  religion.  It  is  only  when  their  vitality  is 
spent  that  they  submit  to  being  embalmed  and  laid  at 
rest  in  a  final  system. 

2  Fortunately  the  unity  and  character  of  a  science  do 
not  depend  on  the  establishment  of  such  boundary 
lines.  As  the  true  unity  of  a  drama  does  not  depend 
on  the  dramatis  personae  but  rests  upon  the  dramatic 

similar  discussion  of  Kleist's  Penthesilea  by  Krafft-Ebing  and  Roettken 
(Zt.  f.  vergleich.  Litteraturgeschichte,  N.  F.,  VIII,  p.  28). 

1  Some  good  remarks  against  the  narrow  policy  of  the  Chinese  Wall 
in  the  Memoirs  of  Chief  Justice  Parsons,  p.  153,  and  in   Sir  Edward 
Coke's  Preface  to  Co.  Rep.,  part  III. 

2  Prantl,  Geschichte  der  Logik  (1855),  I,  p.  1.     For  a  fuller  exposition 
cf.  Wnndt,  Philosoph.  Studien,  XII  (1895),  p.  1. 

8  Essais  de  Critique  et  d'Histoire  (5th  ed.),  Pre"f.  p.  vii. 

3 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

action,1  so  the  unity  of  a  science  consists  in  the  uni- 
form final  aim2  toward  which  all  individual  investi- 
gations converge  and  which  makes  them  all  parts  of 
one  organic  whole.  It  is  this  final  goal  which  deter- 
mines the  uniform  point  of  vision  from  which  all  objects 
and  phenomena  are  to  be  viewed,  and  thus  gives  inde- 
pendence, coherence,  and  individuality  to  a  science.  It 
determines  the  method,  i.  e.  the  manner  in  which  all 
material  should  be  treated.3  As  long  as  a  science  firmly 
adheres  to  its  characteristic  point  of  view,  it  will  always 
be  clearly  kept  distinct  from  its  neighbors,4  and,  far 
from  sacrificing  its  independence  or  individuality  by 
hospitably  receiving  their  aid,  it  will  on  the  contrary 
gain  thereby  in  strength.  But  as  soon  as  it  fails  to 
keep  its  goal  in  clear  view  it  begins  to  disintegrate,  and 
unless  it  can  find  another  central  point  around  which 
its  elements  may  crystallize,  though  it  may  linger  for  a 
while,  it  will  cease  to  be  productive.  It  is  for  this 
reason  that  many  of  the  most  important  epochs  of  a 
science  are  not  marked  by  external  changes  such  as 
territorial  expansion,  but  by  internal  transformations 
brought  about  by  modifications  of  the  point  of  vision. 
3  The  growth  of  a  science  is  reflected  in  the  chief  ten- 

1  Aristotle,  Poet.,  VI.  10.  —  Scherer  (Zt.  f.  d.  oesterreich.  Gymnasien, 
XXIX,  p.  125  [1878]  =  Kleine  Schriften,  I,  p.  373,  quoted  by  Ries,  Was  1st 
Syntax?  [1894],  p.  95  and  p.  161,  note  75)  speaks  of  the  "  hero  "  who  is 
required  to  give  unity  to  an  investigation ;  a  happy  comparison  which 
also  occurs  in  Humboldt  (Ges.  Werke,  I,  p.  310)  and  in  Littre  (Etudes  et 
Glanures  [1880],  p.  2). 

2  Cf.  Aristotle,  Poet.,  VI,  10,  "  rl>  Se  -re\os  ptyiffrov  air<LvT<av.n 

8  Cf.  Taine,  Essais  de  Critique  et  d'Histoire  (5th  ed.),  p.  vii,  "une 
methode  est  une  maniere  de  travailler  et  indique  une  cenvre  a  faire." 

4  W.  Windelband  in  his  "  Rectoratsrede"  (1894)  divides  sciences  accord- 
ing to  their  method.  Cf.  Zt.  f.  Psych,  und  Physiol.  d.  Sinnesorg.,  XVI, 
p.  231,  on  Rickert's  Grenzen  der  naturwissenschaftlichen  Begriffsbildung. 
—  J.  F.  Fries,  Neue  Kritik  der  Vernunft  (1806-7),  §  70. 

4 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

dencies  of  its  important  investigations;  and  these 
variations  will,  on  closer  inspection,  never  appear  capri- 
cious. For,  though  it  might  seem  that  sciences  of 
all  intellectual  manifestations  are  freest  and  most 
independent  in  their  development,  closer  scrutiny  will 
reveal  that  the  new  ideas  which  advance  and  transform 
them  do  not  arise  spontaneously  or  stand  isolated;  on 
the  contrary,  they  will  be  found  closely  correlated  to 
the  general  intellectual  drift  and  philosophical  attitude 
of  a  given  period  of  history.  For,  unconsciously,  these 
permeate  and  mould  the  minds  of  the  investigators  and 
leave  their  indelible  imprint  upon  their  works.  Indeed, 
it  is  impossible  for  any  living  science  to  stand  apart 
from  the  life  of  the  nation  to  which  its  votaries  belong ; 
to  grow  it  must  be  deeply  rooted  in  this  life,  it  draws  its 
vitality  from  it,  it  withers  when  this  connection  is 
severed.  New  epochs l  in  the  history  of  civilization  are 
the  setting  for  new  tendencies  in  scientific  work.  Here, 
as  elsewhere,  only  a  study  of  the  past  leads  to  an  appre- 
ciative understanding  of  the  present. 

4  During  the  century  past  by  far  the  greatest  part 
of  all  investigations  in  the  historical  sciences  has  been 
borne  along  by  one  of  two  main  currents  of  thought. 
Both  of  them  have  their  beginnings  at  the  opening  of 
the  century  which  has  just  closed,  but  they  spring  from 
different  sources,  they  pursue  different  ends,  they 
employ  different  methods.  These  two  chief  tendencies 
may  perhaps  best  be  called  the  one  synthetic,  the  other 
analytic.2 

1  Cf.  v.  Sybel,  Uber  den  Stand  der  neueren  Geschichtsforschung  (1856), 
in  Kleine  historische  Schriften  (3d  ed.),  I  (1880),  p.  351. 

2  These  two  methods  are  clearly  defined  by  Wundt,  Logik,  II,  p.  491. 
What  is  here  called  synthetic  method  he  calls  "  individuelle  Methode," 

5 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

5  The  synthetic   conception  of  Philology  has   its  first 
and  foremost  representative  in  Friedrich  August  Wolf 
and  is  admirably  outlined  by  him  in  an  essay  published 
in  1807  and,  significantly  enough,  dedicated  to  Goethe: 
"Darstellung  der  Alterthumswissenschaft." 

6  In  order  to  understand  and  appreciate  fully  Wolf's 
attitude,  it  must  be  viewed  in  its  historical  setting  and 
in  its  connection  with   the   neo-humanistic   movement 
of  that  period.1     The   parallelism  of  this  humanistic 
revival  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  the  earlier  one  of 
the  fourteenth  is  no  less  instructive  than  are  their  points 
of  difference.     The  humanism  of  the  fourteenth  century 
is  the  natural  reaction  of  youthful  nations  standing  at 
the  threshold  of  their  career  against  the  supranatural- 
istic  philosophy  of  life  which  they  had  borrowed  from 

while  his  "  generische  Methods "  corresponds  to  my  analytic  method. 
Paul's  "  Principienlehre  "  (Principien  d.  Sprachgeschichte,  3d  ed.,  §  1) 
"  welche  sich  mit  den  allgemeinen  Lebensbedingungen  des  geschichtlich 
sich  eutwickelnden  Objektes  beschaftigt "  and  "  die  Aufhellung  der 
Bedingung  des  geschichtlichen  Werdens  lief  ert "  is  analytic  or  "  generic  " 
(Wundt).  The  opposite  method  has  not  been  elaborated  by  Paul.  For 
the  simple  "  geschichtliche  Betrachtung "  of  products  of  human  civiliza- 
tion cannot  be  an  end  in  itself,  but  must  form  the  basis  of  either  syn- 
thetic ("  individual ")  or  analytic  ("  generic  ")  treatment.  It  is  in  the  use 
to  which  the  results  of  historic  study  are  put  (viz.  on  the  one  hand  the 
discovery  of  laws  of  development,  on  the  other  the  creation  of  a  picture  of 
an  individual  as  an  organic  whole)  that  the  real  contrast  lies. 

The  contrast  between  the  two  methods  is  well  brought  out  by  Wecliss- 
ler  (in  Forschungen  zur  Roman.  Philologie.  Festgabe  f.  Suchier 
[1900],  p.  412)  where  he  contrasts  Grimm  and  Bopp.  Cf.  also  lifer  (in 
Zt.  f.  Psychol.  und  Physiol.  d.  Siunesorgane,  VIII  (1895),  p.  387),  who 
contrasts  in  a  similar  manner  Perez  and  Preyer.  Schleicher's  compari- 
son of  the  philologist  with  the  farmer  and  of  the  linguist  with  the 
zoologist  (Die  Sprachen  Europa's  in  systematischer  Ubersicht  [1850], 
p.  4,  and  Die  deutsche  Sprache  [2d  ed.],  p.  121)  has  often  been  quoted. — 
Cf.  also  Dilthey's  division  in  his  Einleitung  in  die  Geisteswissenschaften 
(1883),  I,  p.  33. 

1  For  a  fuller  account  of  the  periods  of  humanism,  reformation,  and 
neo-humanism,  cf.  Paulsen,  Geschichte  desgelehrten  Unterrichts  (1896). 

6 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

the  decadent  Roman  civilization.  The  nations  which 
entered  upon  Rome's  inheritance  did  not,  in  reality, 
despise  life,  they  loved  it.  Rome  had  turned  away 
from  the  world  with  the  surfeit  of  the  aged  who  have 
tasted  it  and  found  it  bitter,  whose  bodies  only  slug- 
gishly respond  to  sense  impressions  from  without,  whose 
minds  have  become  introspective.  Her  successors 
looked  upon  the  world  with  the  curiosity  and  confidence 
of  youth,  with  an  appetite  sharpened  by  injunctions  not 
to  taste  of  its  pleasures.  In  the  Renaissance  these 
nations  found  their  true  selves,  they  perceived  their  like- 
ness in  spirit  with  the  ancients,  they  shared  their  ideal 
of  life  according  to  nature,  the  Ciceronian  virtus  which 
is  nihil  aliud  quam  in  se  perfecta  et  ad  summum  perducta 
natura  became  their  ethical  ideal.  That  strong  joy  in 
living  which  they  themselves  felt  they  found  expressed 
by  the  classical  authors.  What  wonder  that  they 
revelled  in  the  "humanity"  of  the  ancients? 

Starting  in  Italy  and  invading  Germany  at  the  end  of 
the  fifteenth  century,  these  humanistic  ideas  found  a 
favorable  soil  among  the  educated  and  wealthy  aris- 
tocracy. During  the  first  quarter  of  the  new  century 
they  had  forced  their  way  into  the  Universities,  which 
reshaped  their  curricula  to  meet  the  new  demands,  when 
suddenly,  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
their  onward  march  was  checked  by  the  all-absorbing 
movement  of  ecclesiastical  reform.  Not  a  few  of  the 
humanists,  like  Hutten,  enthusiastically  joined  Luther 
in  his  attack  on  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  he  gladly 
accepted  them  as  allies.  But  more  far-sighted  men,  like 
Erasmus,1  rejected  Luther's  overtures  and  watched  with 
uneasiness  and  great  concern  a  movement  which  (how- 

1  Cf.  Ellinger's  very  fair  estimate  of  Erasmus  in  Sybel's  Historische 
Zt.,  LV  (1886),  p.  487. 

7 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

ever  much  they  might  approve  of  its  aim)  offended  them 
by  its  riotous  methods,  and  whose  blighting  effects  on 
humanistic  studies  they  were  keen-eyed  enough  to  fore- 
see. How  could  they  be  expected  to  join  hands  with  a 
young  man  of  indomitable  and  unreasoning  energy  who, 
in  order  to  right  by  forcible  means  abuses  which  they 
themselves  deplored,  was  about  to  throw  the  torch  into 
the  edifice  they  had  patiently  labored  to  erect?  It  is 
truly  pathetic  that  the  same  movement  which  laid  the 
foundation  for  the  future  freedom  and  independence  of 
science  was  destined  to  destroy  this  early  spring  of  a 
revival  of  learning. 

It  was  not  only  that  theological  controversies  now 
engaged  the  attention  of  everybody  and  allowed  neither 
time  nor  interest  for  literary  discussions.  Luther  him- 
self turned  his  most  violent  attacks  directly  against 
humanistic  studies  and  the  Universities.1  They  are  the 
"bottomless  pit"  of  Revelation,  they  are  the  strong- 
holds of  that  "archliar,  sycophant,  and  hangman  of 
souls,  Master  Aristotle."  Small  wonder  if  the  decline 
of  learning  became  appalling,  so  that  Erasmus  could 
truthfully  exclaim:  "  Ubicunque  regnat  Lutheranismus 
ibi  litterarum  est  interitus."  Melanchthon's  letters  are 
full  of  complaint  concerning  the  illiteracy  of  the  clergy, 
and  his  and  Luther's  last  years  are  filled  with  energetic 
attempts  to  stem  the  increasing  disregard  for  learning 
by  a  neo-sch elastic  revival.  But  the  true  spirit  of 
pagan  antiquity  which  had  charmed  the  humanists  was 
dead,  and  Luther  and  Melanchthon  would  have  been 
the  last  to  resurrect  it. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  the  religious  enthusiasm 
of  the  Reformation  had  burnt  out  and  an  ossified  ortho- 
doxy had  taken  its  place,  which  led  to  a  threefold  reac- 
1  Cf.  the  Quarterly  Review,  CLXXXVI  (1897,  July),  p.  33. 
8 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

tion:  on  the  intellectual  side  toward  Rationalism,  the 
revolt  of  suppressed  reason;  on  the  religious  side 
toward  Pietism,  the  vindication  of  the  individual's  spir- 
itual experiences  against  a  formulaic  creed;  on  the 
aesthetic  side  toward  Neo-Humanism  and  Romanticism, 
attempts  to  fructify  the  barren  present  by  a  return  to 
classical  or  mediaeval  ideals.  Wolf  is  the  philological 
representative  of  Neo-Humanism,  as  Grimm  is  that  of 
Romanticism. 

7  Viewed  in  this  light,  the  sudden  advance  of  phil- 
ological studies  in  popular  interest 1  is  not  surprising. 
Weary  of  endless  and  empty  theological  controversies 
and  of  the  rationalistic  philosophy  of  the  Illuminati, 
people  eagerly  welcomed  what  appealed  to  the  starved 
aesthetic  side  of  their  nature.  How  strongly  and  directly 
Wolf  touched  this  aesthetic  chord  an  analysis  of  Wolf's 
" Alterthumswissenschaf t "  will  readily  show.  Wolf2 

1  Cf.  for  instance  Paulsen,  Geschichte  d.  gelehrten  Unter.,  p.  673, 
"  Voss'  Odysseeiibersetzung  oder  Wolf's  Prolegomena,  zur  Zeit  ihres 
Erscheinens  litterarische  Ereignisse  ersten  Ranges  ..." 

2  Wolf's  definition  of  philology  is  given  in  his  Kleine  Schriften  (1869), 
II,  p.  808  ff.,  reprinted  from  the  first  volume  (1807)  of  the  Museum  der 
Alterthums-Wissenschaft.    This  essay  is  the  result  of  lectures  on  Encyclo- 
paedia and  Methodology  of  Classical  Studies  which  Wolf  delivered  from 
1783  to  1790.     The  first  series  of  these  was  announced  in  these  words: 
"  Encyclopaedia  philologica,  in  qua,  orbe  universe  earum  rerum,  quibus 
litterae  antiquitatis  continentur,  peragrato,  singularum  doctrinarum  am- 
bitus, argumenta,  coniunctiones,  utilitates,  subsidia,  denique  recte  et  cum 
fructu  tractandae  cuiusque  rationes  illustrabuntur."     On  p.  826  he  lays 
down  the  following  program  :  "  Wird  hienach  noch  eine  nahere  Beschrei- 
bnng  des  Ganzen  uuserer  Wissenschaft  gefordert,  so  wird  sie  auf  den 
Inbegriff  der  Kenntnisse  und  Nachrichten  gehen,  die  uns  mit  den  Hand- 
lungen  und  Schicksalen,  mit  dem  politischen,  gelehrten  nnd  hauslichen 
Zustande  der  Griechen  und  Romer,  mit  ihrer  Cultur,  ihren  Sprachen, 
Kiinsten  nnd   Wissenschaften,  Sitten,  Religionen,  National-Characteren 
nnd  Denkarten  bekannt  machen,  dergestalt  dass  wir  geschickt  werden  die 
von  ihnen  auf  uns  gekommenen  Werke  griindlich  zu  verstehen  und  mit 
Einsicht  in  ihren  Inhalt  und  Geist,  mit  Vergegenwartigung  des  alterthum- 

9 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

conceived  of  Philology  as  the  Biography 1  of  a  Nation. 
Underneath  the  remains  of  classical  antiquity  he  sees 
the  organic  development  of  two  important  civilizations. 
He  does  not  study  the  works  of  the  ancients  for  their 
own  sake,  but  in  order  to  become  acquainted  through 
them  with  those  who  produced  them.  Wolf  proposed 
to  do  for  these  nations  just  what  the  biographer  does  for 
an  individual.  From  the  remains  of  classical  antiquity 
he  desired  to  construct  a  picture  of  the  classical 
nations.  In  this  ideal  he  and  his  whole  school  fully 
agree.2  Philology  to  them  is  not  a  history  of  the  litera- 

lichen  Lebens  und  Vergleichung  des  spatern  und  des  heutigen,  zu 
geuiessen."  The  goal  of  all  antiquarian  study  is  given  on  p.  883  :  "  Diese 
obenhin  gethane  Erwahnung  des  Werthes  der  eigentlichen  Real-Doctrinen 
offne  uns  jetzt  den  Zugang  zn  dem  schon  bin  und  wieder  angedeuteten 
letzten  Ziele  aller  in  Eins  verbundenen  Bemiihungen,  gleicbsam  zu  dem, 
was  die  Priester  von  Eleusis  die  Epoptie  oder  Anschauung  des  Heiligsten 
benannten  .  .  .  Es  ist  aber  dieses  Ziel  kein  anderes  als  die  Kennlniss  der 
alterthumlichen  Menschheit  sdbst,  welche  Kenntniss  aus  der  durch  das  Studium 
der  alien  Ueberreste  bedingten  Beobachtung  einer  organisch  entwickelten  be- 
deutungsvollen  National- Bildung  hervorgeht." 

1  This  comparison  of  philology  with  biography  occurs  several  times 
in  Lazarus  and  Steinthal's  Einleitende  Gedanken  iiber  Volkerpsychologie 
(Zt.  f.  Volkerpsychologie  und  Sprachwissenschaft,  I  [I860]);  so  on  p.  23 
with  reference  to  the  work  of  Humboldt,  Grimm,  and  Boeckh. 

2  It  is  instructive  to  compare  Wolf's  "  Ueberblick  sammtlicher  Theile 
der  Alterthums-Wissenschaft "  appended  to  his  essay  (Kl.  Schrift.,  II,  894) 
with  the   plans   of    the   five    modern  standard  manuals,  viz.,   Iwan   v. 
Muller's  Handbuch   der  Klassischen   Altertums-Wissenschaft,  Biihler's 
Grundriss  der  indo-arischen  Philologie  und  Alterthumskunde  [=  Encyclo- 
pedia of  Indo-aryan  Eesearch],   Geiger   and  Kuhn's  Grundriss  der  Irani- 
schen  Philologie,   Paul's   Grundriss  der   Germanischen  Philologie,   and 
Grober's  Grundriss  der   romanischen  Philologie,  and  with  those  of  the 
"  Jahresberichte "  for    classical,    Germanic,    and    Romance    philologies. 
Wolf's  outline  is  as  follows :     I.  Philosophische  Sprachlehre  oder  all- 
gemeine  Grundsatze  beider  alten  Sprachen.     (This  is  meant  to  be  an 
analytical  introductory  chapter  tonos.  II  and  III ;  cf.  p.  829,  "  Diese  [gram- 
matischen]  Untersuchungen  sind  von  der  einen  Seite  historischer,  von  der 
anderen  philosophischer  Art:   jenes  sofern  jede  Sprachregel  von  einer 
Thatsache  ausgeht  .  .  .  ,  dieses  weil  keiiie  Regel  in  der  Sprache  feststeht 

10 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

ture,  or  of  the  art,  or  of  the  religion  of  a  given  nation, 
but  a  history  of  its  life  which  rests  upon  the  interrela- 
tion and  combined  action  of  all  these  factors.  The  his- 
tory of  each  separate  department,  such  as  literature,  art, 
religion,  presents,  as  Boeckh  points  out,  a  straight  line 
of  development,  while  Philology  makes  all  these  parallel 
lines  converge  toward  one  centre,  viz.  the  national  unit. 
It  is  not  by  chance  that  the  national  element  at  this  time 

ohne  durch  die  Natnr  des  Redegebrauches  begriindet  zu  sein.")  II.  Gram- 
matik  der  Griechischen  Sprache.  III.  Grammatik  der  Lateinischen 
Sprache.  IV.  Grundsatze  der  philologischen  Auslegekunst.  V.  Grund- 
satze der  philologischen  Kritik  und  Verbesserungskunst.  VI.  Grundsatze 
der  prosaischen  and  metrischen  Composition  oder  Theorie  der  Schreibart 
und  der  Metrik.  (From  p.  833  it  appears  that  practice  in  the  writing 
of  Latin  and  Greek  prose  and  verse  compositions  is  meant,  "  denn  nur  die 
Fertigkeit  nach  der  Weise  der  Alten  zu  schreiben,  nur  eigenes  productives 
Talent  befahigt  uus  fremde  Productionen  gleicher  Art  ganz  zu  verstehen 
nnd  darin  mehr  als  gewisse  Tugenden  aufzufassen.")  VII.  Geographie 
und  Uranographie  der  Griechen  und  Homer.  VIII.  Alte  Universal- 
geschichte  oder  allgemeine  Geschichte  der  Volkerschaf  ten  des  Alterthums. 
IX.  Grundsatze  der  alterthiimlicheu  Chronologie  und  historischen  Kritik. 
(This  stands  in  the  same  relation  to  no.  VIII  in  which  I  stands  to  II  and 
III.)  X.  Griechische  Antiquitaten  oder  Geschichte  der  Zustande,  Ver- 
fassungen  und  Sitten  der  vornehmsten  Staaten  und  VSlker  Griechenlands. 
XI.  Romische  Antiquitaten  oder  Alterthumskunde  Roms  und  des  alteren 
romischen  Rechtes.  XII.  Mythologie  oder  Fabelkunde  der  Griechen  und 
Romer.  XIII.  Litterarhistorie  der  Griechen  oder  aussere  Geschichte  der 
Griechischen  Litteratur.  XIV.  The  same  for  Rome.  XV.  Geschichte 
der  redenden  Kiinste  und  der  Wissenschaften  bei  den  Griechen.  XVI. 
The  same  for  Rome.  XVII.  Historische  Notiz  von  den  mimetischen 
Kiinsten  beider  Volker.  XVIII.  Einleitung  zur  Archaeologie  der  Kunst 
und  Technik  oder  Notiz  von  den  iibriggebliebenen  Denkmalern  und  Kunst- 
werken  der  Alten.  XIX.  Archaeologische  Kunstlehre  oder  Grundsatze 
der  zeichuenden  und  bildenden  Kiinste  des  Alterthums.  (This  is  to 
serve  the  same  purpose  for  the  archaeological  remains  which  Grammar, 
Hermeneutics,  and  Criticism  serve  for  the  literary  remains ;  cf.  p.  852).  XX. 
Allgemeine  Geschichte  der  Kunst  des  Alterthums.  XXI.  Einleitung  zur 
Kenntniss  und  Geschichte  der  Alterthiimlichen  Architektur.  XXII. 
Numismatik  und  Miinzenkunde  der  Griechen  und  Romer.  XXIII.  Epi- 
graphik  oder  Inschxiftenkunde  beider  Volker.  XXIV.  Litterarhistorie 

11 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

began  to  assume  so  prominent  a  place.1  Germany  just 
then  stood  on  the  threshold  of  national  regeneration, 
preparatory  to  the  Napoleonic  wars.  The  time  of  cath- 
olic cosmopolitanism  based  on  religious  unity  had  long 
passed  away;  the  pendulum  swings  in  the  opposite 
direction  toward  national  particularism.  Latin  has 
ceased  to  be  the  universal  language,  the  various  national 
idioms  begin  to  take  its  place  and  emphasize  the  resolu- 
tion of  Christian  Europe  into  an  aggregate  of  self- 
centred  nations.  At  the  same  time  it  readily  appears 
from  these  considerations  that  the  object  of  this  kind  of 
philological  treatment  must  always  be  a  national  unit. 
As  there  can  be  no  Biography  save  of  a  definite  person, 
so  there  can  be  no  Philology,  in  Wolf's  sense  of  this 
term,  save  for  a  definite  nation.  This  is  even  Boeckh's  2 
earlier  and,  in  my  opinion,  better  view,  when  in  1827 
he  defines  Philology  —  meaning,  of  course,  his  teacher's 
—  as  "the  historical  study  of  the  whole  activity  and 
life  of  a  definite  people  within  a  reasonably  circum- 

der  Griechischen  und  Lateinischen  Philologie  und  deriibrigen  Alterthums- 
Studien  nebst  der  Bibliographik. 

1  Sybel,  Kleine  histor.  Schriften,  I.  (3d  ed.,  1880),  p.  352. 

2  Boeckh  in  Rhein.  Mus.  [Abtheil.  f.  Philologie,  etc.],  1827,  p.  41  =  Ges. 
kleine  Schriften,  VII,  p.  264.  Cf.  also  Heyse  in  a  letter  to  Steinthal  (Die 
Sprachwissenschaft  Wilh.  v.  Humboldt's  [1848],  p.  33),  against  whom  Stein- 
thai  argues,  to  my  mind  unsuccessfully.     If  these  restrictions  are  right, 
then  the  term  "  Indo-European  Philology  "  can  be  used  for  that  period  only 
during  which  the  Indo-Europeans  formed  one  national  unit.     Indo-Euro- 
pean Philology  does  not  include  Greek,  Latin,   Germanic,  and  Slavic 
Philology  any  more  than  Latin  Philology  embraces  the  philologies  of  the 
various  Romance  nations.     In  this  I  fully  agree  with  Meringer  (Zt.  f.  d. 
oster.  Gymnas.,  XXXIX  [1888],  p.  130).     This,  however,  does  not  apply 
to  terms  like  "  Indogermanische  Sprachwissenschaft,"   "  Indo-European 
Mythology,"  if  they  are  used  for  the  comparative  study  of  the  languages 
or  the  mythologies  of  a  number  or  of  all  Indo-European  nations.    But 
such  comparative  treatment  is  quite  foreign  to   Wolf's  conception  of 
philology. 

12 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

scribed  period."  While  it  is  clear  that  Wolf's  restric- 
tion of  philological  study  to  the  two  classical  nations  is 
arbitrary  and  in  no  way  implied  in  his  definition,  any 
further  enlargement  which  removes  the  restriction  to  a 
definite  nation  and  a  definite  time  is  incompatible  with 
the  very  essence  of  Wolf's  conception  of  philology. 
From  that  point  of  view  Boeckh's  generalization  in  the 
"  Encyclopaedic  "  cannot  be  considered  an  improvement. 
The  advance  of  Boeckh  over  Wolf  does  not  lie  here, 
but  in  the  different  place  which  he  assigns  in  his  system 
to  language.1  This  latter  was  to  Wolf  primarily2  an 
instrument  (or,  as  he  calls  it,  an  organon)  which  enables 
us  to  gain  access  to  the  objects  of  philological  study. 
In  this  respect  the  study  of  language  stands  in  the 
Wolfian  scheme  on  a  level  with  criticism  and  interpre- 
tation, being  like  these  two  not  an  end  in  itself  but  a 
means  to  the  proper  study  of  the  real  objects  of  philol- 
ogy. In  an  important  passage,3  although  in  a  rather 

1  Boeckh,  Ges.  kleine  Schriften,  I,  p.  105 ;  V,  p.  248. 

2  Wolf,  Kleine  Schriften,  II,  p.  829,  "...  hier  reden  wir  von  den  alten 
Sprachen  nicht  sowohl  als  einem  Objecte  der  Wissenschaft,  vielmehr  iu- 
soweit  deren  Kenntniss  instrumental  ist.    Dadurch  nemlich  erhalten  wir 
ein  Organon  fiir  die  gesammte  Wissenschaft." 

8  Cf.  Wolf,  Kl.  Schriften,  II,  p.  829,  "  soviel  werde  bemerkt,  dass  eiu  tiefe- 
res  Studium  der  Sprachen  den  Unterschied  von  Sprach-  nnd  Sach-Kennt- 
nissen,  den  man  gewohnlich  raacht,  nicht  anerkennt."  And  especially  p. 
863,  "  In  eigenthiimlicher  Wiirde  nnd  mit  den  fruchtbarsten  Tendenzen 
zeigt  sich  das  Studium  der  alten  Sprachen  wenn  es  von  jeder  Beziehung 
unabhangig  nnd  als  Zweck  an  sich  betrachtet  wird.  Bei  dieser  Betrach- 
tung  liegen  folgende  von  wenigen  recht  erwogene  Hauptsatze  zum  Grunde. 
Die  Sprachen,  die  ersten  Kunst-Schopfungen  des  menschlichen  Geistes, 
enthalten  den  ganzen  Vorrath  vou  allgemeinen  Ideen  und  von  Formen 
nnseres  Denkens,  welche  bei  fortschreitender  Cnltnr  der  Volker  sind 
gewonnen  nnd  ansgebildet  worden ;  sie  liefern  daher  in  ihren  Zeichen 
eine  Menge  einzelner  Gemalde  von  nationalen  Vorstellungen,  wodurch 
der  Gehalt  theils  sinnlicher,  theils  besonders  intellectueller  Ideen  und  das 
Charakteristische  in  Auffassung  von  beiden  dargestellt  wird.  Demnach 
muss  jede  ihrer  Absicht  einigermassen  geniigende  Sprache  gewisse  Klassen 

13 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

casual  way,  Wolf  had,  however,  pointed  out  that  there 
is  a  reason  for  making  the  study  of  languages  an  end 
in  itself,  namely,  when  we  regard  them  as  early  creations 
of  the  human  mind  in  which  not  only  the  material  but 
also  the  formal  side  of  our  thinking  has  found  and  is 
finding  expression.  Every  language,  viewed  in  this 
light,  expresses  not  only  much  of  what  the  nation  which 
formed  it  thought,  but  also  how  it  thought  it.  These 
valuable  suggestions  have  borne  fruit  in  Boeckh's  clas- 
sification. For  language  is  no  longer  grouped  by  him, 
along  with  criticism  and  hermeneutics,  as  the  "formal  " 
part  of  philology,  but  receives  its  place  along  with  the 
other  intellectual  manifestations  (mythology,  philoso- 
phy, institutions,  etc.)  as  one  of  the  "material"  parts 
of  philology. 

8     The  chief  characteristics  of  Wolf's  conception  of  phi- 
lology, then,  are  these. 

First  and  foremost  its  synthetic  nature.     It  examines 

von  Ideen  darbieten,  die  nach  der  physischen  and  sittlichen  Individuality 
des  Volkes,  welches  sie  bildete,  vorziiglich  bearbeitet,  vervollkommnet  und 
mit  angemessenen  Ausdriicken  bezeichnet  siud.  In  der  Art  der  Bezeich- 
nungen  aber  liegen  nicht  geringere  Schatze  als  in  den  Zeichen  selber. 
Denn  \vie  die  letztern  in  jeder  Sprache  den  Forscher  mit  neuen  Vorstel- 
lungen  bereichern  und  dadurch  seiuen  geistigen  Gesichtskreis  erweitern,  so 
gewiihren  die  Bezeichnungsarten  und  gleichsam  Geprage,  die  jede  Nation 
ihren  Vorstellungen  aufgedriickt  hat,  einen  zwar  noch  wenig  erkannten 
aber  ebenso  vielfachen  Gewinn.  Durch  die  Kenntniss  und  fleissige 
Beschauung  dieser  Geprage  in  mehreren  Sprachen  fangen  wir  zuerst  an, 
nns  in  der  Intellectualwelt  zurecht  zu  finden  und  die  bereits  daheim 
erworbenen  Reichthiimer  derselben  besser  kennen  und  gebrauchen  zn 
lernen,  indem  mancherlei  Modificationen  ahnlicher  Haupt-Ideen  nns 
zwingen,  die  an  denselben  vorkommenden  Unahnlichkeiten  wahrzunehmen 
und  solche  Vorstellungen,  die  uns  schon  unter  anderen  Denkformen  be- 
kannt  waren,  von  neuen  Seiten  aufzufassen.  So  erhalten  wir  in  den  mit 
einander  verglichenen  Wortern  und  Ausdrucksarten  nicht  etwa  armselige 
Schatze  vieler  gleichgeltender  Zeichen,  sondern  einen  uns  wirklich  berei- 
chernden  Vorrath  von  Mitteln  zur  Auflosung  und  Zusammensetzung  un- 
serer  Ideen  ..." 

14 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

the  individual  remains  of  antiquity  as  to  their  genuine- 
ness, it  cleanses  them  from  blemishes  by  which,  in  the 
course  of  time,  they  have  become  defaced,  it  gives  to 
each  an  adequate  interpretation.  But  unless  called 
upon  to  do  so  for  the  sake  of  a  special  problem  of  philo- 
logical criticism  or  hermeneutics,  it  need  not  further  in- 
quire into  the  nature  of  these  objects.  It  takes  them  as 
they  are.  For  its  chief  interest  lies,  not  in  the  objects 
themselves  or  in  the  laws  which  have  shaped  them,  but 
in  combining  these  elements  into  a  biography  of  Greece 
or  Rome.  Like  the  biographer,  it  is  not  primarily  con- 
cerned with  processes  or  dynamic  questions,  but  with 
the  results  of  these  processes  and  their  synthesis. 
9  And  it  is  for  this  reason  that  Wolf's  Philolog3r  is  an 
art,1  in  the  Aristotelian  sense  of  re^vrj.  Aristotle,  in 
the  Poetics  (XXV,  1),  distinguishes  three  kinds  of  poetic 
/u/£7?<rt?,  namely,  of  things  as  they  were  or  are,  of  things 
as  they  are  said  to  be,  and  of  an  unrealized  ideal.  The 
philological  vtpqcns  is  of  the  first  kind.  It  differs  from 
that  of  the  poet  in  that  the  latter  freely  constructs  from 
true  elements  an  imaginary  composite  whole,  be  it 
characters  or  incidents,  which  has  never  so  existed  and 
may  therefore  ever  exist,  while  the  Wolfian  philologist 
carefully  reconstructs  from  their  elements  actual  char- 
acters and  events  as  they  have  really  existed. 
10  Such  reconstruction  requires  artistic  perspective,  a 
well-planned  arrangement  of  parts  in  order  to  produce 
the  desired  effect,  a  proper  foreshortening.  In  the  the- 
oretical discussions  of  Wolf  and  his  followers  compara- 
tively little  emphasis  is  laid  on  this  very  important 

1  This  aspect  of  philology  has  been  elaborated  by  Zacher  in  Verhand- 
lungen  deutscher  Philologen,  etc.  zu  Gb'rlitz  (1889),  p.  49,  who  refers  to 
Boeckh,  Encyclopaedic,  p.  25,  and  Usener,  Philologie  und  Geschichts- 
wissenschaft  (1882),  p.  25. 

15 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

point.  But  since  it  is  not  the  single  element  in  which 
the  interest  centres,  each  of  these  elements  is  of  value 
in  so  far  only  as  it  forms  part  of  the  mosaic  which  is 
being  constructed.  Just  as  Aristotle l  finds  fault  with 
the  excessive  size  of  a  picture,  "  because  the  eye  cannot 
take  in  all  at  once  and  consequently  unity  and  the  sense 
of  the  whole  is  lost  for  the  spectator,"  so  over-indul- 
gence in  detail  must  spoil  the  total  impression  because 
the  reader  is  overwhelmed  by  the  mass  of  minutiae.* 
Proportion  is  the  very  essence  of  art,  and  only  by  a 
constant  reference  to  the  whole  can  the  proper  place 
and  value  be  assigned  to  each  element. 
11  The  theory  of  the  relative  importance  of  characteris- 
tics which  Aristotle3  alluded  to  and  which  Jussieu4 
introduced  into  the  natural  sciences  teaches  that  in  nat- 
ural organisms  some  qualities  are  primary  and  essential 
because  they  determine  the  whole  structural  plan ;  others 
are  secondary  or  tertiary,  variable,  sometimes  wholly 
absent.  With  great  propriety  Taine  5  has  applied  this 

1  Poet.,  VII.,  4. 

2  Sorel,  Nouveaux  Essais  d'Histoire  et  de  Critique  (1898),  p.  9,  quotes 
Voltaire's  "  II  faut  voir  les  choses  en  grand,"  and  complains  (p.  1)  "  nous 
avons,  en  histoire,  le  prejuge  du  de'tail."    "  Et  pourtant,"  lie  continues,  p.  7, 
"  sans  les  memoires  qui  y  reveillent  les  £chos  de  la  vie,  1'histoire  est  .  .  . 
muette.  ...  II  n'y  a  de  notion  de  1'ensemble  que  par  1'e'tude  des  faits  par- 
ticuliers ;  il  n'y  a  de  restitution  intelligible  de  cet  ensemble  que  par  la 
resurrection  de  quelques-uns  de  ces  faits.      Us  ne    sont  pas  1'histoire, 
mais  ils  sont  les  elements  de  1'histoire.     II  faut  les  recueillir,  les  criti- 
quer,  les  trier,  les  grouper,  en  prendre  comme  une  moyenne  superieure  ; 
puis,  pour  en  former  un  tableau,  choisir  les  plus  caracteristiques  et  les  re- 
produire  non  a  titre  de  preuve,  mais  a  titre  d'illustration." 

8  Poet.,  VIII,  4 :  xp))  .  ,  .  ret  (ntpi)  trvvfcrrdvai  ruv  irpayfj.dr<av  ofirvs  Sxrrf 
[itTartOefjifvoi  rtfbs  /j.epous  ^  aipa.ipovfj.fvov  SiatpfpfrrOai  Kal  Kivtiafiai  rb  %\ov. 
6  y&p  irpoa'bv  $  /*}?  irpotrbv  yUTjSep  iroitl  tir($ri\ov,  oiiS^v  fj.6piov  rod  S\ov  larlv. 

4  Cf.  A.  de  Candolle,  Introduction  a  1'Etude  de  la  Botanique  (1835), 
p.  485. 

5  Essais  de  Critique  et  d'Histoire  (5  ed.),  Preface,  p.  xxvi. 

16 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

to  the  life  of  individuals  and  of  nations.  And  it  is 
clearly  the  duty  of  the  biographer  to  determine  this 
relative  importance  of  all  characteristics;  from  this  it 
follows  that  no  two  individuals  or  nations  should  be 
treated  according  to  the  same  plan.  In  individuals  as 
well  as  in  nations  we  find  a  certain  equilibrium  by 
which  excess  in  one  direction  entails  a  corresponding 
loss  in  another.  "  Naturalists  have  found  that  the  exag- 
gerated development  of  one  organ  of  an  animal  produces 
a  weakening  or  a  reduction  of  other  organs.  Similarly 
the  historian  may  state  that  the  extraordinary  develop- 
ment of  one  faculty,  as  the  ethical  quality  of  the  Ger- 
manic Race  or  the  metaphysical  and  religious  quality  of 
the  Hindoos,  produces  in  these  same  races  an  atrophy 
of  the  inverse  faculties."  So  the  biographer  of  Greece 
will  undoubtedly  place  in  the  foreground  as  essential 
characteristics  art,  both  plastic  and  literary,  and  philoso- 
phy. For  the  lasting  contributions  of  Greece  to  the 
world's  civilization  lie  in  these  fields.  But  the  biog- 
rapher of  Rome  would  fail  if  he  were  to  treat  her  in 
like  manner.  The  place  which  art  and  philosophy  hold 
for  Greece  is  taken  for  Rome  by  jurisprudence  and 
political  administration.1  As  Freeman,  paraphrasing  a 

1  Wolf  (Kl.  Schriften,  II,  p.  821)  states  the  case  very  fairly  when  he 
says  :  "  Die  Romer  waren  zwar  nicht  ein  Volk  von  originalen  Talenten, 
ausser  in  der  Kunst  zu  erobern  und  zu  herrschen.  .  .  .  Sie  ahmten  spater- 
hin,  als  sie  eine  Litteratur  gleich  einer  auslandischen  Waare  bei  sich  anf- 
nahmen  die  Griechen  mit  Eifer  nach ;  doch  thaten  sie  dies  in  einigen 
Zeitaltern  mit  vielera  Gliick  und  mit  so  eigentiimlich  grossem  Sinne,  dass 
sie,  gegen  die  Meinung  der  neuesten  Hellenen-Freuude,  etwas  mehr  als  Tra- 
ditoren  Griechischer  Litteratur  wurden ;  auch  bereicherten  sie  die  empfang- 
enen  Theile  des  gelehrten  Wissens  mit  manchem,  was  nahere  Beziehung 
auf  das  praktische  Leben  hat  :  wie  sie  denn  z.  B.  fur  wissenschaftliche 
Theorie  des  Rechtes  beinahe  Qwhy  only  "  almost "  ?]  dasselbige  leisteten, 
was  die  Griechen  in  der  Philosophic  geleistet  hatten."  And  he  adds  in 
the  note  :  "  Es  liesse  sich  hieriiber  eine  Vergleichung  zwischen  beiden  V61- 
2  17 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

famous  passage  of  Vergil,1  says  in  his  Rede  Lecture: 
"  The  special  business  of  Rome  was  to  rule  nations,  not 
merely  to  conquer  by  her  arms,  but  govern  by  her 
abiding  laws.  Her  truest  and  longest  life  is  to  be 
looked  for  not  in  the  triumphs  of  her  Dictators,  but  in 
the  edicts  of  her  Praetors.  .  .  .  The  most  original 
branch  of  Latin  Literature  is  to  be  found  not  in  its 
poets,  not  even  in  its  historians  or  orators,  but  in  what 
some  might  perhaps  deny  to  be  part  of  literature  at  all, 
in  the  immediate  records  of  her  rule,  in  the  text-books  of 
her  great  lawyers,  in  the  itineraries  of  her  provinces,  in 
the  notitiae  of  her  government  and  offices.  The  tongue 
of  Rome  is  the  tongue  of  Gaius  and  Ulpian  rather  than 
the  tongue  of  Virgil  and  Horace."  It  is  not  on  account 
of  their  likeness  that  the  two  ancient  nations  of  Greece 
and  of  Italy  are  especially  adapted  to  joint  treatment 
(they  differed  as  widely  as  the  English  differ  from  the 
French),  but  because  they  form  two  such  distinct  types 
of  two  opposite  ways  of  feeling  and  thinking,  each  fur- 
nishing a  foil,  as  it  were,  for  the  other. 
12  Wolf's  philology,  then,  has  two  sides:  the  one  turned 
toward  the  spectator,  the  other  turned  toward  the  artist- 
philologist.  It  is  here,  in  the  rear,  that  we  find  the 
critical  scaffolding,  bolts,  ropes,  and  all  that  is  necessary 
to  produce  a  well-rounded  and  artistically  conceived 
picture  in  front.  Like  any  work  of  art  such  philo- 
logical work  is  intended  to  appeal  to  a  non-professional 
public.2  As  the  layman  enjoys  a  picture  without  him- 

kern  anstellen  die  das  Verdienst  des  Romischen  in  ein  sehr  vortheilhaftes 
Licht  setzen  konnte." 

1  Aen.,  VI.  847-853,  of  which  the  first  four  lines  are  paralleled  by  Hor. 
Ep.,  II.  1,  90  f.  —  Cf.  also  the  convenient  summary  given  by  Seyffert  in 
his  commentary  to  Cicero's  Laelius  (2d  ed.  besorgt  v.  Miiller,  1876),  p.  46- 
48  and  93-94. 

2  And  to  such  a  public  Wolf  actually  addressed  himself.    Cf.  Paulsen, 

18 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

self  being  able  to  paint,  or  as  he  enjoys  a  play  without 
himself  being  initiated  into  the  secrets  of  the  play- 
wright's or  the  actor's  art,  so  he  may  enjoy  the  pro- 
ductions of  Wolf's  philology  without  himself  being  an 
investigator;  they  are,  indeed,  meant  to  be  so  enjoyed 
by  him,  and  the  excellence  of  treatment  may  to  a  great 
extent  be  judged  by  the  effect  it  has  on  the  public.  This 
will  depend  not  only  on  the  proper  subordination  and 
correlation  of  the  characteristic  elements,  but  at  least 
in  an  equal  degree  on  the  amount  of  life  which  the  artist 
is  able  to  infuse  into  his  creation.1  If  he  fail  in  this  he 
will  only  send  his  readers  to  sleep. 

13  But  to  breathe  the  breath  of  life  into  his  creation  is 
not  the  only,  and  perhaps  not  the  hardest  problem  which 
confronts  the  disciple  of  Wolf.     Nor  will  it  be  unduly 
difficult  to  heed  Plutarch's   warning2  and   avoid   the 
danger  of  turning  pleader,  and   like   the   over-zealous 
biographer  slight  the   faults   and  magnify  virtues,  in 
order  to  give  a  pleasing  and  beautiful  picture  rather 
than  a  true  one. 

14  There  are  two  other  difficulties  which  surpass  all  the 
rest  in  seriousness,  and   it  is   upon   these  %  rocks  that 
Wolf's  Philology,  though  guided  by  a  careful  helms- 
man, may  suffer  shipwreck. 

The  first  is,  that  he  who  would  successfully  accom- 
plish Wolf's  purpose  must  unite  two  distinct  qualities, 
namely,  the  critical  for  the  preliminary  preparation  of 
his  material  and  the  artistic  for  its  final  composition. 

Geschichte  d.  gel.  Unter.,  p.  674,  "  Heyne  und  Wolf  batten  keineswegs  fiir 
Philologen  gelesen  ;  ihr  Auditorium  war  zusammengesetzt  aus  Ange- 
hb'rigen  aller  Fakultaten." 

1  Cf.  the  almost  identical  remarks  of  Bulwer  in  the  preface  to  the  first 
edition  of  his  Last  Days  of  Pompeii,  and  of  G.  Freytag  in  the  preface  to 
his  Bilder  aus  der  deutschen  Vergangenheit. 

2  Vit.  Cimon.,  2. 

19 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

"  Zwar  mag  in  einem  Menschenkind 
Sich  beides  auch  vereiiien  ; 
Doch,  dass  es  zwei  Gewerbe  sind, 
Das  lasst  sich  nicht  verneinen."  1 

It  is  certainly  not  often  that  both  are  found  in  the  same 
person.  As  a  rule  one  has  dwarfed  the  other;  either 
the  creative  fancy,  scorning  a  solid  masonry  of  facts, 
builds  its  castle  in  Spain  without  carpenter  and  archi- 
tect, or  a  hesitating  exactness  may  become  the  fetish  to 
which  the  children  of  the  imagination  are  sacrificed.2 
15  The  second  fundamental  difficulty  for  the  Wolfian 
philologist  is  the  extent  of  inherently  heterogeneous 
matter  which  he  must  assimilate.  It  is  true  that  the 
various  intellectual  manifestations  comprised  in  Wolf's 
scheme  are  not  isolated  but  stand  in  a  certain  interrela- 
tion, but  it  may  be  doubted  if  this  is  of  a  kind  to  render 
much  assistance  in  the  mastery  of  so  vast  and  varied 
materials.  As  the  mind  is  readier  to  receive  and  corre- 
late homogeneous  facts,  the  tie  which  binds  together  the 
same  manifestation,  such  as  languages  or  beliefs,  of 
different  nations  is  closer  than  that  by  which  the  various 
manifestations  of  the  same  nation  are  united.3 

1  Goethe,  Katzenpastete. 

2  Cf.  Sybel  on  G.  Waitz  (Histor.  Zt.  LVI  Q886],  p.  484) :  "  Die  Auf- 
gabe  des  Historikers  zeigt  mannigfaltige  Seiten :  Er  soil  kritischer  For- 
scher,   politischer   Sachverstandiger,   darstellender    Kiinstler    sein.     Als 
Forscher  hat  er  die  Pflicht  jede  Einwirkung  seiner  subjektiven  Stimmung 
zuriickzudrangen.     Bei  der  Auffassung  des  geistigen  Gehalts  der  Ereig- 
nisse  wird  stets  der  subjective  Standpunkt  des  Betrachters  sich  geltend 
machen.     Vollends  die   kiinstlerische  Darstellung  erhalt  ganz  und  gar 
von  der  Personlichkeit  des  Kiinstlers  ihr  Geprage.    So  sind  in  alien  Zeiten 
und  Landern  die  Ftille  ausserst  selten,  wo  diese  verschiedenen  Fa'higkeiten 
sich  in  einer  gliicklich  begabten  Individuality  zu  harmonischem  Gleich- 
gewicht  vereinigen :  fast  immer  wind   auch   bei  hoch  begabten  Naturen 
ein  gewisses  Ubergewicht  nach  der  einen  oder  der  anderen  Seite  sichtbar 
•werden." 

8  This  is  the  chief  reason  whv  in  the  case  of  modern  nations  Wolf's 

20 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

16  It  is  not  difficult  to  see  what  the  result  is  likely  to  be. 
With  the  increasing  mass  of  material  to  be  mastered  and 
with  the  more  and  more  exacting  requirements  for  its 
preliminary  critical  treatment,  the  artistic  synthesis 
which  was  Wolf's  ideal  will  be  farther  and  farther  — 
perhaps  indefinitely  —  postponed.  A  feverish  activity 
behind  the  scenes,  but  no  rise  of  the  curtain.  But  if 
artistic  synthesis  is  the  corner-stone  of  Wolf's  philol- 
ogy, and  if  it  is  the  final  aim  which  gives  character  to 
any  branch  of  study,  the  consequences  of  such  loss  of 
purpose  must  necessarily  be  fatal.1  The  idea  of  propor- 
tion is,  under  such  circumstances,  easily  lost,  and  the 
relative  value  of  a  given  item  as  part  of  the  ideal  whole 
is  no  longer  correctly  estimated.  The  individual  inves- 
tigations are  no  longer  consciously  directed  toward  one 

ideal  has  met  with  almost  insuperable  obstacles.  Cf.  Maurer,  Fragen 
iiber  die  Organisation  des  neusprachlichen  Unterrichts  in  d.  hoheren 
Lehranstalten  Deutschlands,  Osterreichs  u.  d.  Schweiz.  (Verhandlungen 
deutscher  Phil.,  etc.,  Zurich,  1887,  p.  336).  His  first  thesis  is:  'Der  Un- 
terricht  in  den  neueren  Sprachen  sollte  an  den  hoheren  Schulen  so  geordnet 
sein,  dass  den  angehenden  Philologen  so  wie  auch  dem  Bildungsbediirf  tigen 
iiberhaupt  ein  lebendiges  zusammenhangendes  Bild  der  modernen  Kultur- 
volker  geboten  wiirde."  See  also  Klinghart's  remarks  on  Maurer's  article, 
in  Engl.  Stud.,  XI,  275. 

1  Cf.  Gildersleeve  in  his  address  delivered  at  the  Philological  Congress, 
Philadelphia,  Dec.  27,  1900  (Johns  Hopkins  University  Circulars,  No.  150, 
March,  1901 ;  p.  3  of  the  reprint) :  "  What  has  become  of  that  ideal  of  the 
Science  of  Antiquity"?  The  name  '  Altertumswissenschaft '  still  flourishes 
on  the  cover  of  manual  and  encyclopaedia,  but  the  advance  of  specializa- 
tion has  made  the  scheme  an  impossibility  —  nay,  as  we  are  apt  to  say  by 
way  of  self-excuse,  a  physical  impossibility.  There  is  no  Science  of  An- 
tiquity, there  is  nothing  but  a  cycle  of  studies  ;  there  is  no  unity,  there  is 
only  diversity.  We  can  hope  to  cover  only  a  small  arc  of  the  circle." 
"  Perhaps,"  he  concludes  on  p.  13,  "  with  the  return  of  art  there  will  come 
the  return  of  the  vanished  ideal.  .  .  .  There  are  signs  of  a  coming  time 
when  we  shall  after  all  win  our  way  back  from  diversity  to  unity,  when 
every  specialist  shall  work  at  his  task  in  conscious  relation  with  the  whole 
—  not  merely  with  the  cycle,  but  with  the  sphere  itself.  That  is  an 
oscillation,  that  is  a  return  which  some  eyes  have  waited  long  to  see." 

21 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

common  centre,  and  sooner  or  later  disintegration  must 
inevitably  result.  And  that  public  which  welcomed 
Wolf  because  he  supplied  an  aesthetic  want  will  be 
alienated.1 

Surveying  the  development  of  philological  studies,  we 
may  single  out  two  periods  in  which  they  engaged,  in  a 
marked  degree,  general  attention,  namely,  the  Renais- 
sance of  the  fifteenth,  and  the  Nee-Humanistic  move- 
ment of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  both  these  periods 
they  did  so  because  they  furnished  an  aesthetic  comple- 
ment to  an  almost  wholly  intellectual  culture.  In  the 
former  they  offered  a  relief  to  the  barren  scholastic 
dialectics,  in  the  latter  to  the  rationalism  of  the  Illumi- 

1  Cf.  Paulsen,  Gesch.  d.  gel.  Unterrichts,  p.  671-673.  When  he  says  : 
"  Die  Philologen  selbst  hatten  sich  den  veriinderten  Verhiiltnissen  ange- 
passt.  Sie  wendeten  sich  mit  ihren  Arbeiten  nicht  mehr  an  einen  gros- 
seren  Leserkreis,"  etc.,  it  would  seem  that  this  attitude  of  philologists,  far 
from  being  the  result  of  popular  apathy,  was  one  of  the  chief  causes 
for  it. 

It  is  instructive  in  this  connection  to  follow  the  development  of  that 
kind  of  German  historical  novel  to  which  the  term  of  "  professorial  novel " 
has  not  inaptly  been  applied.  Its  vogue  in  Germany  during  the  second 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century  forms  an  interesting  study  when  compared 
with  the  course  and  character  of  philological  studies  during  that  same 
period.  Such  a  parallel  might  disclose  the  fact  that  the  aesthetic  spirit  of 
Wolf's  philology  took  refuge  in  the  historical  novel  when  philological 
work  was  gradually  directed  into  other  channels  where  the  general  public 
refused  to  follow.  "  Der  historische  Roman,"  says  R.  v.  Gottschall  in  his 
Deutsche  Natiouallitteratur,  "  entrollt  ein  Culturgemalde  der  Vergangen- 
heit ;  er  fiihrt  uns  eine  Fiille  von  Begebenheiten  vor,  welche  der  Chronik 
entschwundener  Jahrhunderte  treulich  nacherzahlt  sind  ;  er  beschaftigt  die 
Phantasie  in  angenehmer  Weise,  indem  er  sie  geru  aus  den  Kreisen  des 
gegenwartigen  Lebens  herausreisst  und  die  Existenz  nntergegangener 
Geschlechter  bis  in  ihre  kleinsten  Ziiire  vor  nns  aufbaut.  Der  Roman- 
dichter  raumt  irgend  ein  vergangenes  Jahrhundert  wie  ein  verschiittetes 
Pompeji  und  Herculanum  aus  ;  er  zeigt  uns  alle  Wandgemalde  und  Hen- 
kelgefasse,  alle  Stellungen  und  Gruppen  der  Begrabenen,  die  heitere  nnd 
triibe  Arbeit  ihres  Lebens,  mit  einem  Worte  er  beseelt  die  antiquarische 
Forschung" 

22 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

nati.  It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  neither  the  advance 
in  the  natural  sciences  nor  the  changes  in  political  and 
religious  life,  however  important,  would  have  succeeded 
in  so  profoundly  influencing  the  position  of  philological 
studies,  if  there  had  not  been  the  cankerworm  of  dis- 
integration within  Wolf's  conception  of  philology. 
Attacks  from  without  have  a  tendency  to  strengthen  a 
unified  community,  but  a  community  uncertain  within 
falls  an  easy  prey  to  them. 

17  Neither  criticism  nor  hermeneutics  can  ever  be  an  end 
in  itself.1  They  are  the  necessary  substratum  for  all 
further  work ;  they  are  not  sciences  by  themselves,  but 

1  As  early  as  1 822  Boeckh  writes  in  his  De  antiqnarum  litterarnm  studio : 
"  Magnopere  igitur  errare  mihi  videntur  qui  huius  disciplinae  ambitura 
ad  interpretis  et  critici  artes  restringunt  quibus  manifestnm  est  non  sum- 
mos  doctrinae  fines  sed  veri  inveniendi  instrumenta  contineri."  Cf.  also 
the  close  of  Lange's  inaugural  address  (1855,  Kleine  SchrifL,  p.  20) : 
"  Zwei  Disciplinen  sind  bisher  nnerwahnt  geblieben,  die  .  .  .  mitunter 
sogar  falschlich  f iir  den  Kern  der  klassischen  Philologie  angesehen  worden 
sind.  Ich  meine  die  Kritik  und  Hermeneutik  :  jene  die  Kunst  der  Beur- 
theilung  der  Aechtheit  des  Ueberlief erten  ;  diese  die  Kunst  der  Verdolmet- 
schung  des  in  seiner  Bedeutung  nicht  unmittelbar  verstandlichen.  Gewiss 
ist  nun,  dass  die  classische  Philologie  beide  Disciplinen  nicht  entbehren 
kann,da  die  erhaltenen  Reste  des  Alter  thums,womit  sie  es  zu  thun  hat,  nicht 
immer,  weder  im  ganzen  noch  im  einzelnen,  in  einer  keinen  Zweifel  iibrig 
lassenden  Weise  erhalten  siud,  stets  aber  wegen  der  uns  fremden  Form,  in 
der  sie  erscheinen,  eine  Erklarung  bediirfen.  Gewiss  ist,  dass  niemand 
ein  guter  Philolog  sein  kann,  der  nicht  eine  gewisse  Sicherheit  in  der 
Handhabung  der  Kritik  und  Hermeneutik  besitzt.  Gewiss  ist  endlich,  dass 
die  classische  Philologie  ein  historisches  Recht  auf  diese  Disciplinen  hat ; 
denn  sie  ist  im  Bunde  mit  ihnen  gross  geworden  und  hat  durch  fort- 
wahrende  Beschaftigung  mit  den  Resten  des  Alterthums  und  die  damit  ver 
bnndeiie  fortwahrende  Uebung  der  Kritik  nnd  Hermeneutik  Methode  in 
diese  Disciplinen  gebracht,  so  dass  andere  Wissenschaften,  welche  Kritik 
nnd  Hermeneutik  iiben  miissen,  sie  von  der  Philologie  zu  lernen  pflegen. 
Aber  alles  dieses  berechtigt  nicht  die  classische  Philologie  mit  Kritik  nnd 
Hermeneutik  zu  identificiren,  was  nichts  als  eine  Verwechslung  von  Mittel 
und  Zweck  sein  wiirde.  Ja  es  berechtigt  nicht  einmal  der  Kritik  nnd  Her- 
meneutik eine  Stelle  im  Innern  der  Philologie  zu  geben,  die  sie  f  olgerecht 

23 


LECTURES  ON  THE   STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

parts  of  sciences,  initial  stages  which  are  intended  to 
lead  up  to  something  else.  Without  first  hewing  the 
beams  no  building  can  be  erected ;  but  who  would  hew 
beams  except  to  erect  a  building?  To  have  clearly 
recognized  this,  to  have  furnished  one  central  point 
toward  which  all  individual  investigations  should  con- 
verge, and  to  have  supplied  in  his  artistic  synthesis  a 
definite  purpose  for  which  the  mass  of  critically  sifted 
and  correctly  interpreted  material  might  be  utilized,  is 
perhaps  the  greatest  and  most  lasting  merit  of  Wolf's 
plan. 

18  This  same  material  may,  however,  be  viewed  from 
another  point,  and  this  is  the  second  aspect  in  which 
historical  objects  have,  in  the  century  past,  presented 
themselves.  In  contradistinction  to  Wolf's  synthesis 
this  second  attitude  of  the  mind  may  be  termed  analyti- 
cal. The  contrast  of  the  two  methods  is  sharply 
marked.  The  central  figure  for  Wolf  is  one  nation ;  for 
the  analytical  investigator  the  central  figure  is  some  one 
of  the  many  intellectual  manifestations  without  refer- 
ence to  any  particular  nation,  non  quis  sed  quid.  These 
homogeneous  facts  he  sets  out  to  analyze  in  order  to 
discover  the  laws  which  underlie  the  development  of  the 
phenomena  which  make  up  this  particular  group.  He 
does  not  study  the  Latin  language  because  he  is  inter- 
ested in  the  Roman  nation,  or  Greek  mythology  because 
it  casts  light  upon  the  Greek  people,  but  he  sees  in 
both  a  series  of  facts  which,  when  correlated  to  other 
homogeneous  facts  of  other  nations,  may  perhaps  enable 
him  to  discover  the  genetic  forces  by  which  languages 
and  religions  are  being  shaped.  In  brief,  his  main  prob- 

ebensowohl  ira  Innern  der  Geschichte,  der  Sprachwissenschaft,  der  Theo- 
logie  haben  miisste.  Sie  sind  daher  ausserhalb  des  Systems  als  formale 
Hiilfsdisciplinen  zu  behandeln." 

24 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

lems  are  dynamic  problems,  his  chief  aim  the  determina- 
tion of  regular  and  uniform  sequences. 
19     To  trace  in  detail  the  introduction  of  this  analytical 
treatment  in  the  various  groups  of  historical  phenomena, 
to  disclose  the  reasons  for  its  earlier  or  later  appearance, 
its  greater  or  smaller  degree  of  success  in  different  de- 
partments, would   be   of   considerable   interest.     Here 
only  a  few  points  which  directly  bear  upon  the  analyti- 
cal method  in  linguistic  studies  can  be  touched.     Even 
while  Wolf's  conception  of  philology  reigned  supreme 
we   find   analytical   tendencies  in  Wolf's   great  rival, 
G.    Hermann.     As   Paulsen1   rightly   points   out,    the 
difference  between  Wolf  and  Hermann  was  not  a  differ- 
ence of  opinion  concerning  abstract,  academic  questions 
but  a  difference   of  temperament  and   early  training. 
Even  apart  from  the  fear  of  superficiality,2  which  he  de- 
tested, Hermann  would  have  found  but  small  pleasure 
in  the  work  of  Wolf's  school.     His  mind  was  of  a  de- 
cidedly philosophical  bent  —  witness,  for  instance,  his 
Habilitationsschrif t :  "De   poeseos   generibus  "   (1794), 
and  the  oration  which  he  delivered  in  1803  on  entering 
upon  his  professorship  at  Leipzig :  "  De  differentia  prosae 
et  poeticae  orationis  disputatio."     When  a  mind  of  such 
type  applies  itself  to  the  study  of  any  group  of  facts,  it 
looks  for  system,  order,  law.     And,  in  turn,  it  will  be 
attracted  most  powerfully  by  those  phenomena  in  which 
system,  order,  and  law  appear  to  manifest  themselves 
most  clearly.     For  reasons  which  will  be   given   later 
language  is  pre-eminently  of  this  character.     And  the 
method   which   Hermann   proposed  for  the  successful 
investigation   of   grammatical    problems  is   analytical. 

1  Gesch.  d.  gel.  Unter.,  p.  639. 

2  Cf.  Hermann's  letter  to  Thiersch  (Paulsen,  Gesch.   d.  gel.  Unter., 
p.  641). 

25 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

"  Quod  multa  verba  in  Graeco  sermone  genitivum  regunt, 
quae  in  aliis  linguis  alios  casus  habent,  non  potest  sane 
nisi  exemplorum  auxilio  cognosci.  Sed  unde  ista  nata 
sit  linguarum  diversitas  amplius  est  explicandum."1 
But  while  Hermann's  attitude  was  undoubtedly  analytic, 
his  method  of  research  was  too  much  tinged  with  the 
deductive  philosophy  of  the  eighteenth  century  to  enable 
him  to  reach  lasting  results.  His  attempt  at  reforming 
the  methods  of  Greek  grammar  suffers  from  this  fatal 
defect.  Not  for  his  results  but  for  his  aims,  Hermann 
must  be  mentioned  among  the  pioneers  of  the  analytic 
treatment  of  languages.  It  was  he  who  elevated  gram- 
matical studies  from  the  ancillary  position  they  had  held 
and  won  for  them  relative  independence.  But  he  also 
introduced  an  abstract,  logical  method,  which  derives 
its  system  not  from  the  observed  concrete  facts  of  a  lan- 
guage, but  from  logical  and  philosophical  speculation. 
Kant's  categories  are  to  Hermann  the  means  by  which 
Greek  grammar  must  be  reformed.  The  fundamental 
error  of  this  method,  which  the  works  of  Karl  Ferdi- 
nand Becker  2  exhibit  in  its  clearest  and  extremest  form, 
is  the  failure  to  distinguish  between  thought  and  the 
expression  of  thought  in  language.  If  thought  and  its 
linguistic  expression  were  the  same,  the  work  of  the 
logician  would  include  that  of  the  grammarian,  the 
laws  of  the  former  would  be  of  necessity  the  laws  of 
the  latter.  As  it  is,  the  immediate  object  of  the  gram- 
marian is  not  thought,  but  the  expression  of  thought 

1  De  emend,  ratione  gramm.  Graecae  (1801),  p.  ix.  Cf.  ibid.  p.  3,  "Et- 
enim  duplex  omnino  'grammatici  officium  est,  alterum  .  .  .  ,  alterum,  ut, 
qua  ratione  ea,  quam  explicandam  sibi  sumpsit,  lingua  istis  partibus  usa 
sit,  casque  confirmarit,  probe  habeat  perspectum." 

2  Cf.  especially  his  Organism  der  Sprache,  which  forms  vol.  I  of  his 
Deutsche  Sprachlehre.   Its  first  edition  appeared  in  1827,  a  second  edition 
in  1841. 

26 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

and  emotion  in  language.  It  is  therefore  proper  that  he 
should  start  with  linguistic  expressions,  i.  e.  with  the 
formal  side  of  language,  and,  as  grammarian,  base  his 
classification  upon  language -forms,  a  method  which 
will,  of  course,  not  prevent  his  studying  both  the  con- 
tents of  each  form  or  group  of  forms  and  the  peculiar 
manner  in  which  thought  is  reflected  by  them.  The 
reverse,  philosophical  method  has,  for  a  number  of 
reasons,  longest  maintained  itself  in  syntax,  the  last 
department  of  grammar  in  which  logical  classifications 
are  giving  way  to  arrangements  which  rest  upon  a  for- 
mal basis. 

20  But  there  were  then  powerful  agencies  at  work  which 
were  gradually  forcing  an  analytical  attitude  upon 
observers.  First  of  all,  the  growth  of  the  historical 
method  in  which  the  enthusiasm  of  Freeman  sees  a  con- 
tribution of  the  nineteenth  century  to  the  advance  of 
human  knowledge,  —  a  contribution  "  which  may  boldly 
take  its  stand  with  the  revival  of  Classical  antiquity  in 
the  fifteenth  century."  There  are  faint  traces  of  an 
historical  view  in  both  Hermann  and  Wolf.  In  1801 
Hermann  warns  *  "  ne  usus  diversarum  aetatum  genti- 
umque,  immo  etiam  diversorum  scriptorum  unius  gentis 
aetatisque  conf undatur, "  and  six  years  later  Wolf2 
deprecates  the  restriction  of  grammar  to  a  set  of  rules 
abstracted  from  the  writings  of  a  "  golden  "  period,  while 
in  reality  it  should  comprise  the  whole  history  of  a  lan- 
guage and  trace  its  development.  But  such  remarks 

1  De  emend,  ratione  gramm.  Graecae,  p.  xiii. 

2  Kleiue  Schrift.,  II,  p.  829,  "  Derm  unter  Grammatik  wird  hier  nicht 
das  eingeschrankte  System  von  Regeln  einer  Sprache  ans  einem  einzelnen 
Zeitraum  ihrer  Bliithe  verstanden  .  .  .  der  Name  nmfasst  vielmehr  alle 
Zeitraume  des  Lebens  einer  Sprache."    Just  before  this  he  defines  Greek 
and  Latin  grammar  as  "  die  Theorie  der  Griechischen  und  Lateinischen 
Sprache  nach  deni  von  Zeit  zu  Zeit  veranderten  Sprachgebrauche." 

27 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

are  rather  theoretical  obiter  dicta.  It  is  not  until  some- 
what later  that  practical  work  along  the  whole  range  of 
human  thought  is  powerfully  affected  by  this  new  aspect 
of  familiar  facts.  The  first  practical  demonstration  on 
a  large  scale  of  the  application  of  the  historical  method 
to  grammar  was  given  in  Jacob  Grimm's  monumental 
German  Grammar,  the  first  volume  of  which  appeared 
in  1819.  Four  years  before  this  Savigny,  who  of  all 
Grimm's  teachers  undoubtedly  exercised  the  strongest 
influence  over  him,1  had  clearly  stated  the  essence  of 
the  historical  method:2 

"  This,  then,  is  the  vital  question :  '  What  is  the  relation 
of  the  past  to  the  present;  how  have  things  come  to  be 
what  they  are?'  Some  hold  that  every  period  freely  and 
independently  creates  its  world  and  shapes  its  existence. 
The  historical  school  maintains  that  there  exists  no  wholly 
independent  and  isolated  human  being;  but  what  may 
appear  as  such,  is,  from  another  point  of  view,  only  an 
integral  part  in  a  larger  whole.  Thus,  every  man  must 
necessarily  be  conceived  of  as  member  of  a  family,  of  a 
people,  of  a  commonwealth;  every  period  as  the  continua- 
tion and  result  of  all  preceding  periods.  Any  other  view 
is  one-sided  and,  if  it  strives  for  sole  recognition,  false  and 
harmful.  But  if  this  be  true,  then  every  period  does  not 
independently  create  its  own  world,  but  it  is  inseparably 
linked  to  the  whole  past.  Every  period,  then,  starts  with 
a  definite  inheritance  from  the  past.  And  this  inheritance 
may  be  said  to  be  at  the  same  time  compulsory  and  free ; 
compulsory  in  the  sense  that  it  does  not  depend  on  the 

1  For  the  influence  of  Savigny  on  Grimm,  cf.  Scherer's  articles  in  the 
Preussische  Jahrbiicher,  XIV-XVI. 

2  Zt.  f.  geschichtliche  Rechtswissenschaft,   I  (1815),  p.   2.     On  the 
"historical  school  "in  jurisprudence  (Montesquieu,  G.  H.  Hugo,  Justus 
Moser,  Savigny,  etc.)  cf.  J.  C.  Buntschli,  Gesch.  d.  allgemeiuen  Staats- 
rechts  (1864),  p.  564. 

28 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

caprice  of  the  present;  free  in  the  sense  that  it  does  not 
depend  on  the  will  of  a  third  person  (as  the  slave's  action 
on  the  command  of  the  master),  but  is  the  result  of  the 
nature  of  the  people  which,  in  this  larger  sense,  forms  an 
ever-growing,  ever-developing  whole.  Of  the  nation  taken 
in  this  larger  sense  our  present  period  is  but  a  part.  .  .  . 
Viewed  in  this  way  history  ceases  to  be  a  mere  collection 
of  examples,  and  becomes  the  only  path  toward  the  true 
understanding  of  our  present  conditions." 

Grimm's  treatment  of  language  is  throughout  parallel 
to  Savigny's  treatment  of  law.  Like  his  teacher  he 
conceives  of  every  individual  linguistic  fact  as  one  link 
in  a  continuous  chain;  the  duty  of  the  grammarian  is 
"  to  trace  the  never  resting  element  in  language  in  its 
temporal  and  local  changes."1  His  induction  rests 
upon  a  vast  mass  of  accumulated  material,  the  complete- 
ness of  which  was  at  this  time  unparalleled.  Like 
Savigny,  he  deprecates  the  introduction  of  general 
abstract  ideas ; 2  "  they  produce  a  false  appearance  of 
definiteness  and  system  which  stands  in  the  way  of  an 
(unprejudiced)  observation  of  the  facts."  As  laws  are 
to  Savigny,  so  language  is  to  Grimm  pre-eminently  a 
social  product;  Herder's  collectivistic  conception  of  the 
origin  of  popular  poetry,  which  in  F.  A.  Wolf's  appli- 
cation to  the  Homeric  poems  (1795)  had  some  years 
before  produced  a  profound  impression  even  in  non- 
philological  circles,  is  thus  seen  to  be  gaining  ground 
and  entering  other  departments  of  historical  study.  The 
distinction  between  the  artificial  products  of  the  individ- 

1  Dent.  Gramm.,  I  (2d  ed.),  p.  viii,  "  das  unstillstehende,  nach  zeit  nnd 
raum  veranderliche  element  der  sprache  nachznweisen." 

2  Deut.  Gramm.,  I  (1822),  p.  vi,  "  Allgemeinen  logischen  begriffen  bin 
ich  in   der  grammatik  feind.     Sie  fiihren  scheinbare  strenge  und  ge- 
schlossenheit  der  bestimmung  mit  sich,  hemmen  aber  die  beobachtung." 

29 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

ual  and  the  "  natural "  creation  of  the  people  is  a  neces- 
sary consequence  of  this  view.  The  grammarian  yields 
his  place  of  honor  to  the  untutored  speaker;  "every 
unlettered  German  who  knows  his  language  intuitively 
and  without  reflection  may  be  a  living  grammar  unto 
himself  and  boldly  dismiss  all  rules  of  the  language- 
masters."  From  now  on  the  importance  of  dialects  is 
ever  increasing,  not  only  of  those  which  have  found 
literary  representation,  but  also  of  the  dialectal  pecu- 
liarities which  live  only  in  the  spoken  language  of  the 
people.  Grimm  realized  their  importance  from  the 
morphological  and  lexicographical  point  of  view :  "  His- 
torical grammar  should  note  in  them  the  fragments  of 
inflections,  formative  elements,  and  even  of  syntactical 
constructions.  .  .  .  They  contain  the  manifold  material 
which  either  never  reached  a  higher  stage  of  perfection 
or  has  sunk  back  again  from  that  stage.  .  .  .  The  pop- 
ular dialects  possess  some  qualities  which  are  wanting 
in  our  literary  language;  .  .  .  they  have  preserved 
certain  ancient  virtues  which  the  higher  style  has  long 
given  up,  though  in  general  they  have  not  thereby 
gained,  they  lack  nobility,  dignity,  and  harmonious  reg- 
ularity."1 The  character  of  the  sources,  which  from 
the  nature  of  the  case  must  be  literary,  made  it  impossi- 
ble to  include  these  latter  in  the  plan  of  his  Gram- 
mar. Their  phonetic  value,  however,  Grimm  strangely 
undervalued :  "  Historical  grammar  need  pay  but  little 
attention  to  the  '  bunte  wirrwar  mundartlicher  lautver- 
haltnisse. ' ' 

21  In  another  way,  also,  Grimm's  Grammar  ushered  in 
a  new  era.  I  mean  in  the  prominence  which  is  first 
given  here  to  the  careful  study  of  the  changes  of  sound 
and  their  importance  for  etymology.  "To  have  fully 

1  Deut.  Gramm.,  I  (3d  ed.),  p.  23. 
30 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

restored  to  the  letters  [=  sounds]  their  natural  right 
and  to  have  elevated  them  to  that  position  which  they 
fill  in  (the  economy  of)  language  "  is  counted  by  Pott 1 
as  "  certainly  not  the  least  among  the  important  services 
which  J.  Grimm  has  rendered  to  both  the  study  of  indi- 
vidual languages  and  to  general  linguistics."  The  turn 
which  he  thus  gave  to  phonological  investigation  was 
of  the  highest  importance  for  the  future  development  of 
linguistic  work.  For  in  the  study  of  the  changes  of 
sounds,  "whose2  movements  are  less  disturbed  than 
those  of  other  elements  of  speech,"  were  first  observed 
those  regularities  which  led  to  the  introduction  of  the 
idea  of  law  to  the  bewildering  mass  of  detached  facts. 
,  The  law  which  goes  by  his  name  is  the  foundation  upon 
which  the  method  of  modern  phonology  has  been  reared, 
and  it  is  this  new  department  of  grammar  which  was 
the  first  to  deprecate  chance  and  caprice  and  to  insist 
upon  order  and  regularity,  without  which  no  scientific 
investigation  can  exist. 

22  R.  v.  Raumer  deserves  the  credit  of  having  first  seen 
that  for  the  successful  prosecution  of  these  phonological 
investigations  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  physi- 
ological side  of  sound-production  (phonetics)  is  indispen- 
sable.3 "  We  shall  never  reach  satisfactory  results  if  we 

1  Etymol.  Forschungen  (1833),  p.  xii. 

2  Pott,  1.  c. 

8  Cf.  Scherer  (Z.  Gesch.  d.  deutschen  Sprache  [1868],  p.  39),  "  Immer 
wird  ihr  ( =  Raumer's  Abhandlung  iiber  die  Aspiration  und  die  Lautver- 
sehiebung)  das  grosse  Verdienst  bleiben  der  Phonologic  die  physiologische 
Bahn  gebrochen  zu  haben.  [Theodor  Jacobi's  Beitrage  zur  deutschen 
Grammatik,  in  which  a  physiological  explanation  of  vowel-strengthening 
is  attempted  on  the  basis  of  Kempelen's  Mechanismus  der  menschlichen 
Sprache  (1791),  are  also  mentioned  by  Scherer,  but  are  not  accessible 
to  me]. 

Raumer  characterizes  his  work  and  contrasts  it  with  that  of  Grimm,  as 
follows  (Zt.  f.  d.  osterreich.  Gymnasien  [1861]  =  Ges.  sprachwiss.  Schrif- 

31 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

are  satisfied  to  have  found  certain  letters  in  one  dialect 
in  the  place  of  certain  others  in  another  dialect.  We 
must  penetrate  into  the  nature  of  the  sounds  for  which 
these  letters  stand  in  order  to  find  out  how  one  may 
have  developed  from  the  other.  For  since  the  transfor- 
mation of  words  does  not  rest  upon  the  signs  with  which 
they  are  spelled  or  upon  their  similarities,  but  upon  the 
spoken  sounds,  it  follows  that  phonetic  investigations 
must  accompany  all  etymology. " 1  In  his  Die  Aspiration 
und  die  Lautverschiebung  (1837)  he  gives  a  specimen 
of  this  desirable  union  of  phonetics  with  historical 
grammar.  The  value  of  the  spoken  language,  both  of 
a  dialectal  community  and  of  the  single  individual  for 
phonetic,  and  hence  for  phonological,  investigations 
which  had  been  so  strangely  slighted  by  Grimm  is  placed 
by  Raumer  in  the  proper  light :  "  In  order  to  investigate 
the  process  of  sound  change  in  the  spoken  language,  we 

ten  [1863],  p.  406) :  "Das  worauf  es  dem Unterzeichneten  vom ersten  Beginn 
seiner  sprachgeschichtlichen  Arbeiten  am  meisten  anzukommen  schien, 
war  die  Erforschung  der  Vorgange  selbst  durch  welche  sich  die  Laute  der 
Sprache  im  Laufe  der  Zeit  umgestalteten.  Um  aber  diesen  Vorgangen  auf 
die  Spur  zu  kommen  war  vor  allem  die  strengste  Scheidung  der  gespro- 
chenen  und  der  geschriebenen  Sprache  nothig.  Dass  Jacob  Grimm  den 
Unterschied  von  Schriftsprache  und  Mundarten  bespricht  versteht  sich 
von  selbst  und  ebenso,  dass  er  hier  wie  uberall  sehr  vieles  Geistreiche  und 
Treffeude  sagt.  Dass  es  ihm  aber  nicht  gelungen  ist  die  gesprochene 
und  die  geschriebene  Sprache  streng  anseinanderzuhalten  und  eben  da- 
durch  ihre  wechselseitigen  Beziehungen  richtig  zu  erkennen,  das  wird 
mit  der  Zeit  auch  der  grosste  Verehrer  Grimm's  zugebeu  miissen.  Ferner 
war  fur  die  Erforschung  der  lautgeschichtlichen  Vorgange  in  der  bloss 
gesprochenen  Sprache  eine  moglichst  genaue  physiologische  Untersuchung 
und  Bestimmung  der  in  Betracht  kommenden  Laute  unerlasslich.  Auch 
hier  wieder  tritt  man  den  unsterblichen  Verdiensten  Jacob  Grimm's 
durchaus  nicht  zu  nahe,  sondern  spricht  nur  aus,  was  in  kurzem  Niemand 
mehr  leugnen  wird,  wenn  man  sagt,  dass  die  Lautbestimmungen  Jacob 
Grimm's  wesentlicher  Verbesserungen  bediirfen." 

1  From  §  5  of  Raumer's  Die  Aspiration  und  die  Lautverschiebung 
(1837)  =  Gesammelte  sprachwissenschaftliche  Schriften  (1863),  p.  I  ff. 

32 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

must  start  from  that  which  offers  itself  for  direct  and 
immediate  observation ;  that  is,  from  the  spoken  dialects. 
These  must  be  investigated  with  the  greatest  care,  not 
only  the  sound-systems  of  larger  or  smaller  dialectal 
communities,  but  also  the  pronunciation  of  single  indi- 
viduals. How  little  interest  Grimm  attached  to  this 
sort  of  inquiry  may  be  seen  from  this  passage  regarding 
the  aim  of  dialect  study:  *  In  my  opinion,'  he  says,  '  his- 
torical grammar  must  pay  less  attention  to  the  chaotic 
mass  of  dialectal  sounds  than  to  the  fragments  of  inflec- 
tions, word  formations  and  even  syntactical  construc- 
tions, which  have  been  largely  retained  in  popular 
speech. '  From  which  it  is  seen  that  Grimm  scorns  the 
only  source  which  we  possess  for  gaining  a  first-hand 
knowledge  of  the  spoken  sounds.  But  this  is  the  very 
starting-point  for  him  who  desires  to  penetrate  into  the 
mysteries  of  ancient  sound-changes.  Only  thus  are  we 
enabled  to  translate  the  ancient  written  records  back 
into  living  spoken  sounds,  only  thus  can  one  get  beyond 
a  mere  interchange  of  letters  and  obtain  an  insight  into 
the  real  process  of  sound  change."1  Unfortunately 
these  excellent  principles  were,  for  a  long  time  to  come, 
but  little  heeded.  In  spite  of  the  splendid  phonetic  work 
of  Briicke2  (1849  and  1856)  and  of  Merkel3  (1856  and 
1866),  Scherer  4  complained  (1868)  with  good  reason  that 
"only  rarely  a  philologist  is  found  who  is  willing  to 

1  Raumer,  Die  geschichtliche  Entwickltmg  der  Laute  (1861)  =  Ges. 
sprachwiss.  Schriften  (1863),  p.  408. 

2  E.  Briicke,  Untersuchungen  iiber  die  Lautbildung  und  das  natiirliche 
System  der  Sprachlaute  (Sitz.   Ber.  d.  Wiener  Akad.  Math.-Naturwiss. 
Classe,   1849,  p.  182-208),  and  Grundziige  der  Physiologic   und   Syste- 
matik  der  Sprachlaute  (1856  ;  2d  ed.  1876). 

8  C.  L.  Merkel,  Anatomie  und  Physiologic  des  menschlichen  Stimm- 
nnd  Sprachorgans.  Anthropophonik.  (1856),  and  Physiologie  der  mensch- 
lichen Sprache.  Physiologische  Laletik.  (1866). 

*  Zur  Gesch.  d.  deut.  Sprache  (1868),  p.  39. 
3  33 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

enter  into  physiological  (=  phonetic)  discussions, 
which  he  perhaps  prefers  to  avoid  altogether  under  the 
plea  that  they  are  superfluous  subtleties.  As  a  con- 
sequence, one  cannot  assume  that  even  the  most  ele- 
mentary things  are  known,  and  even  Brucke's  work, 
which  ought  to  be  the  gospel  of  the  phonologist,  is  not 
in  everybody's  hands." 

Under  Grimm's  treatment  grammatical  studies  as- 
sumed a  new  independence,  while  at  the  same  time 
it  was  inevitable  that  the  interest  of  the  investigator 
tracing  the  successive  stages  in  the  history  of  a  given 
language,  noting  gains,  losses,  and  mutations,  should 
become  focused  upon  this  process  of  evolution  which 
was  going  on  before  his  very  eyes,  and  that  thus 
both  a  firm  basis  and  a  strong  incentive  should  be 
furnished  for  a  study  of  the  dynamic  problems  of 
speech.  Bopp  touched  on  all  these  points  when  he 
wrote l  in  1827 :  "  A  Grammar  in  the  higher,  scientific 
sense  of  the  word  must  be  both  history  and  natural 
science  of  a  language.  It  must,  as  far  as  possible,  his- 
torically trace  the  road  along  which  a  language  has  risen 
to  its  perfection  or  sunk  to  low  estate  [this  states  the 
historical  problem];  but  especially  it  should,  after  the 
manner  of  the  natural  sciences,  investigate  the  laws 
according  to  which  its  development  or  its  decay  or  its 
rebirth  out  of  former  ruins  has  taken  place  [this  is  the 
dynamic  aspect  of  the  problem] .  Grammar  cannot  lay 
claim  to  independence  and  truly  scientific  value  so  long 
as  its  only  aim  consists  in  paving  the  way  for  a  more 
perfect  understanding  of  the  meaning  of  the  authors 
who  have  written  in  the  language  of  which  it  treats,  and 

1  tTber  J.  Grimm's  Deutsche  Grammatik.  ( Jahrbiicher  f.  wissenschaft. 
Kritik,  1827  [February]  =  Vocalismns  oder  sprachvergleichende  Kri- 
tiken  [1836],  p.  3). 

34 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

if,  for  this  purpose,  it  simply  collects  and  classifies  all 
common  and  rare  forms  that  can  be  found  —  though  in 
this  manner  also  much  can  be  done  that  is  valuable  and 
much  keenness  and  learning  can  be  displayed.  But  for 
the  study  of  language  pre-eminently,  we  must  emphasize 
a  maxim  which  Goethe  expressed  in  his  Wander jahre: 
"  Only  a  part  of  what  is  important  is  useful.  In  order 
to  possess  a  thing  completely,  to  have  full  mastery  over 
it,  one  must  study  it  for  its  own  sake." 
23  Meanwhile  the  introduction  of  Sanskrit  had  opened  up 
a  new  line  of  investigation,  namely,  that  of  comparative 
grammar,  a  term  first  found  in  Friedrich  Schlegel's 
essay  Ueber  die  Sprache  und  Weisheit  der  Indier 
(1808).  During  his  residence  in  Paris  Schlegel,  under 
the  guidance  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  had  begun  the 
study  of  Sanskrit,  devoting  to  it  about  three  hours  a  day 
for  a  little  less  than  a  year.1  He  had  thus  become  ac- 
quainted with  Sir  William  Jones'  brilliant  hypothesis, 
which  had  been  formulated  in  1786  but  was  not  pub- 
lished until  1788,2  that  the  Sanskrit  language  bears  to 
Greek  and  Latin  "  a  stronger  affinity,  both  in  the  roots 
of  verbs  and  in  the  forms  of  grammar,  than  could  have 
been  produced  by  accident ;  so  strong  that  no  philologer 
could  examine  all  the  three  without  believing  them  to 
have  sprung  from  some  common  source  which,  perhaps, 
no  longer  exists.  There  is  a  similar  reason,  though  not 
quite  so  forcible,  for  supposing  that  both  the  Gothic  and 
Celtic,  though  blended  with  a  different  idiom,  had  the 
same  origin  with  the  Sanskrit."  To  have  elaborated 
this  "affinity  in  the  forms  of  grammar,"  and  to  have 

1  Schlegel,  Tiber  die  Sprache  und  Weisheit  der  Indier,  p.  iv.    Cf.  also 
Helmina  v.  Chezy's  Unvergessenes,  I,  p.  270,  and  Benfey's  Geschichte  d. 
Sprachwissenschaft  (1869),  p.  358  and  361. 

2  Asiatick  ^Researches  (1788),  I,  p.  421.    Cf.  Benfey's  Gesch.  d.  Sprach- 
wissenschaft, p.  347. 

35 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

pointed  to  it  as  the  really  determining  factor  which 
must  ultimately  settle  the  question  of  the  relationship 
of  two  or  more  languages,  is  one  of  the  chief  merits  of 
Schlegel's  book.  A  whole  chapter,  the  third,  is  devoted 
to  this  task.  After  enumerating  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter a  list  of  roots  which  are  identical  for  the  languages 
compared,  he  now  prepares  to  meet  the  objection  that 
this  striking  similarity  in  the  vocabulary  may  be  the 
result  of  borrowing  and  of  speech-mixture  and  hence 
prove  nothing  as  to  a  common  origin,  by  an  argument 
"which  completely  decides  this  matter  and  puts  it 
beyond  doubt.  ...  And  this  decisive  point,  which  will 
clear  up  everything,  is  the  structural  plan  of  the  lan- 
guages or  their  comparative  grammar  by  which  we  obtain 
an  entirely  new  insight  into  the  genealogy  of  languages, 
much  in  the  same  way  in  which  comparative  anatomy 
has  cast  light  on  (some)  more  advanced  branches  of  the 
natural  sciences."1  It  is  apparent  from  this  quotation 
that  the  aim  of  the  comparative  method  as  employed  by 
Schlegel  is  to  furnish  incontrovertible  evidence  for  the 
common  origin  of  languages  supposed  to  be  cognate,2 
and  to  draw  from  this  comparison  of  languages  the  im- 

1  Sprache  u.  Weisheit  d.  Indier,  p.  28.     Cf .  also  p.  3  :  "  Die  Ahnlich- 
keit  licgt  nicht  bloss  in  einer  grossen  Anzahl  von  Wurzeln  .  .  .,  son- 
dern  sie   erstreckt   sich  bis  auf  die  innerste  Strnctur  und   Grammatik. 
Die  Ubereinstimmung  ist  also  keine  zufallige,  die  sich  aus  Einmischung 
erklaren  liesse ;  sondern  eine  wesentliche  die  auf  gemeinschaftliche  Ab- 
stammung  deutet,"  and  what  is  said  (p.  4—5)  on  the  different  structure  of 
Hebrew  and  other  languages.  —  The  question  as  to  what  is  to  be  considered 
adequate  proof  of  genealogical  relationship  was  subsequently  very  fully 
treated  by  Humboldt  in  an  essay  entitled  "  An  essay  on  the  best  means  of 
ascertaining  the  affinities  of  Oriental  Languages"  (dated  June  14,  1828), 
in  the  Transact,  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Soc.,  II  (1830),  p.  213.    Cf.  also 
Pott  in  Zt.  d.  deut.  Morgenl.  Ges.,  IX,  p.  405,  and  Brugmann  in  Techmer'a 
Internationale  Zt.,  I,  p.  223. 

2  I  pass  over  in  silence  Schlegel's  unfortunate  attempt  at  deriving  the 
classical  languages  from  the  Sanskrit. 

36 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

portant  consequences  for  the  oldest  history  touching  the 
origin  of  peoples  and  their  earliest  migrations.1 
"4  On  a  very  large  scale  such  a  comparative  grammatical 
analysis  of  most  Indo-European  languages  was  carried 
out  by  Bopp  in  his  Vergleichende  Grammatik  des  Sans- 
krit, Zend,  Griechischen,  Lateinischen,  Litthauischen, 
Gothischen  und  Deutschen,  the  first  volume  of  which 
appeared  in  1833. 2  But  the  primary  purpose  of  this 
comparison  is  to  Bopp  not  the  proof  of  identical  origin 
for  the  languages  analyzed,  —  though  this  is  (inciden- 
tally as  it  were)  systematically  and  definitely  established, 
—  but  the  explanation  of  the  origin  of  grammatical 
inflection.  The  preface  lays  down  this  program:  "In 
this  book  I  intend  to  give  a  comparative  description  of 
the  organic  structure  of  the  languages  named  in  the 
title,  which  is  to  comprise  all  that  which  they  have  in 
common,  an  investigation  of  their  physical  and  mechan- 
ical laws,3  and  of  the  origin  of  those  forms  which  ex- 
press grammatical  relations."  The  relation  of  these 
three  points  to  each  other  has  been  well  set  forth  by 
Benfey.4  They  are  not  strictly  coordinated,  but  form 
three  stages  in  Bopp's  ideal  scheme  of  investigation; 
the  comparison  of  the  organic  structure  forms  the  basis, 
which,  to  be  exact,  requires  the  application  of  phonetic 
laws,  —  it  is  interesting  to  note  how  Bopp's  comparative 
method  exactly  like  Grimm's  historical  method  neces- 
sarily leads  to  these,  —  but  both  are  a  means  to  answer 
the  question  how  the  Indo-European  inflectional  systems 

1  Sprache  u.  Weisheit  d.  Indier,  p.  5. 

2  The  second  volume  followed  in   1835,  including  also  the  Slavic. 
A  second  edition  in  three  volumes,  appeared  in  1857,  1859,  and  1861,  re- 
spectively, and  included  the  Armenian. 

3  Bopp's  physical  and  mechanical  laws  are  equivalent  to  what  we  now 
call  phonetic  laws. 

4  Geschichte  d.  Sprachwissenschaft,  p.  474  f£. 

37 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

arose.  That  a  mind  like  Bopp's,  who,  "  especially  in 
the  philosophical  courses,  had  early  shown  great  acu- 
men," and  "had  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  lan- 
guage from  the  very  outset  with  a  view  of  penetrating 
in  this  manner  into  the  secrets  of  the  human  mind  and 
to  discover  something  concerning  its  nature  and^its 
laws,"1  should  have  been  attracted  to  this  extremely 
difficult  set  of  dynamic  problems,  no  one  will  wonder. 
But  the  lasting  importance  of  his  work  does  not  lie  in 
the  attempted  solution  of  this  riddle.  It  rather  con- 
sists in  what  his  comparative  method  allowed  him  to  do 
for  each  individual  language.  It  enabled  him  to  rise 
above  the  narrow  confines  of  a  single  language,  and  to 
view  its  facts  at  a  different  angle  and  in  the  light  of  all 
the  cognate  members  of  the  same  family;  and  to  his 
keener  eye  these  facts,  therefore,  grouped  themselves 
otherwise  than  before,  and  he  was  able  to  bring  "life, 
system,  and  organic  connection  into  the  linguistic  mate- 
rial presented  by  each  individual  language."2  This, 
"the  most  just  demand  of  our  period  which  for  some 
decades  has  been  furnishing  the  means  for  it,"  he  fully 
satisfied,  and  along  this  line  his  work  marks  an  epoch.3 

1  Windischmann  in  the  Vorerinnerungen  zu  Fr.  Bopp,  tiber  das  Conju- 
gationssystem  der  Sanskritsprache  (1816),  p.  i-ii. 

2  "  Des  Lehrenden  Blick  muss  iiber  die  engen  Schranken  eines  oder 
zweier  Individuen  einer  Sprachfamilie  hinausreichen,  er  muss  die  Zeuguisse 
der  sammtlichen  Stammgenossen  um  sich  versammeln,  um  dadnrch  Leben, 
Ordnung  und  organischen  Zusammenhang  in  das  auszubreitende  Sprach- 
material  der  zunachst  vorliegenden  Sprache  zu  bringen.     Solches  zu  er- 
streben  scheint  mir  wenigstens  die  gerechteste  Anforderung  unserer  Zeit, 
welche  seit  einigen  Jahrzehnden  uns  die  Mittel  dazu  an  die  Hand  gegeben 
hat."     Bopp's  preface  to  the  Vergleichende  Grammatik,  p.  viii  in  the 
second  ed. 

8  There  is  no  occasion  to  discuss  here  in  detail  Bopp's  agglutinative 
theory  of  the  origin  of  Indo-European  inflection.  Cf.  for  this  the  chapter 
in  Delbriick's  Einleitung  in  das  Sprachstudium,  and  his  Vergleichende 
Syntax,  I,  p.  47  ;  also  below,  p.  285-287. 

38 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

25  The  period  which  had  opened  with  Bopp's  Compen- 
dium closes  with  the  Compendium  of  August  Schleicher 
(1861).  In  it  we  have  not  merely  a  summing  up  of  the 
results  of  comparative  grammar  of  the  preceding  quarter 
of  a  century,  but  we  find  the  comparative  method  put 
to  a  new  use,  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  Schleicher's 
Compendium  may  be  said  at  the  same  time  to  close  one 
period  and  to  open  another.  This  novel  point  is  the 
reconstruction  of  the  Indo-European  parent  language 
from  the  data  furnished  by  the  individual  languages 
shown  to  have  descended  from  it. 

The  idea  of  inferentially  constructing  a  parent  lan- 
guage on  the  basis  of  actually  existing  cognate  languages 
or  dialects  seems  to  have  originated  with  Schleicher. 
As  early  as  1846  he  had  said  that  "  the  Indo-European 
*  primary  languages  '  —  which  must  be  in  part  inferred 
—  stand  in  a  similar  relation  to  the  old  Indo-European 
mother-tongue  as  the  Romance  languages  to  Latin."1 
In  his  Linguistische  Untersuchungen,  vol.  II  (Die 
Sprachen  Europa's  in  systematischer  Uebersicht),  pub- 
lished in  1850  at  Bonn,  he  again  speaks  of  "primary 
languages "  (Primdrsprachen,  e.  g.  p.  29-30)  such  as 
the  Latin  and  the  Sanskrit,  contrasting  them  with  "  sec- 
ondary languages  "  such  as  the  Romance  languages  and 
the  modern  Hindoo  vernaculars.  In  some  cases,  he  adds, 
such  primary  languages  are  not  extant,  but  must  be 

1  "Aehnlich  wie  die  romanischen  Sprachen  zum  Lateinischen,  ver- 
halten  sich  die  indogermanischen  Primarsprachen  (die  zum  Theil  selbst 
erst  erschlossen  werden  miissen)  zur  alten  indogermanischen  Mutter. 
Indisch,  Iranisch,  Griechisch,  Lateinisch,  Slavisch,  Littauisch,  Deutsch 
nnd  das  noch  ziemlich  dunkle  Celtisch,  sind  ebenso  die  Friichte  einer 
ausgestorbenen  Sprache  wie  Wallachisch  und  Italienisch,  Spanisch  und 
Portugiesisch,  Proven^alisch  und  Franzosisch  die  des  Lateins."  (The 
address,  though  delivered  in  1846,  was  not  printed  until  1850,  in  Lassen's 
Zt.  f .  d.  Kunde  d.  Morgenlandea,  VII,  p.  37). 

39 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

constructed  from  their  descendants  (secondary  lan- 
guages). These  primary  languages,  in  turn,  he  regards 
as  daughters  of  one  mother,  the  parent  language 
(Ursprache).  Two  years  later,  in  his  Formenlehre  der 
Kirchenslavischen  Sprache  (1852),  he  expresses  himself 
similarly.  A  Parent  Slavonic  is  posited  there  as  the 
common  source  from  which  the  different  Slavonic  idioms 
must  be  derived  and  which  may  be  inferred  by  a  com- 
parison of  these  idioms  (p.  27).  And  by  way  of  illus- 
tration he  constructs  (p.  28)  the  Parent  Slavonic  active 
present  participle  on  the  basis  of  the  Church  Slavonic, 
Serbo-Illyrian,  Russian,  Polish,  and  Bohemian  forms. 

What  is  done  here  for  the  Slavonic  dialects  he  con- 
siders possible  for  the  Indo-European  languages :  "  From 
a  comparison  of  the  oldest  extant  languages  of  the  differ- 
ent Indo-European  families,  with  due  regard  to  the  laws 
of  historical  grammar,  we  may  form  a  comparatively 
clear  conception  of  the  Indo-European  parent  language 
from  which  the  mothers  of  the  different  families 
[=  Schleicher's  primary  languages]  developed  in  a 
manner  analogous  to  that  in  which  the  Romance  lan- 
guages were  evolved  from  the  Latin  "  (p.  4,  1.  c.).  All 
the  derived  languages,  he  maintains,  must  form  the 
basis  on  which  the  Indo-European  parent  language  is 
to  be  constructed,  since  all  of  them  have  originally 
flowed  alike  from  this  common  source.  But  the  varying 
degree  of  faithfulness  with  which  the  different  languages 
have  preserved  old  sounds  and  forms  makes,  according 
to  Schleicher,  those  languages  of  especial  importance 
which  have  remained  nearest  to  the  original  home  of  the 
Indo-European  parent  people. 

Nine  years  later,  in  1861,  this  plan  of  reconstruction 
was  actually  carried  out.  As  the  sub-title  of  the  com- 
pendium "  Kurzer  A  briss  einer  Lautlehre  der  Indoger- 

40 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

manischen  Ursprache,  des  Altindischen,  Alteranischen, 
Altgriechischen,  Altitalischen,  Altkeltiscben,  Altsla- 
wischen,  Litauischen  und  Altdeutschen  "  shows,  "the 
attempt  has  here  been  made  to  place  the  inferred  Indo- 
European  parent  language  alongside  of  its  really  existing 
descendants  "  (2d  ed.,  p.  8,  n.).  A  discussion  of  the  pos- 
sibility of  such  an  undertaking  must  be  reserved  for  a 
later  paragraph.1  But  that  Schleicher  never  doubted  it 
may  be  regarded  as  certain.  Unless  he  believed  that 
these  inferred  forms  once  possessed  actual  reality,  he 
would  never  have  attempted  to  give  a  specimen  of  Indo- 
European  prose,2  partly,  to  be  sure,  "animi  causa,"3 
but  "partly  also  to  prove  that,  though  with  difficulty, 
connected  sentences  may  be  formed  in  the  Indo- 
European  parent  language."  When  he  speaks  of  these 
inferred  parent  forms  as  "more  or  less  doubtful, "  4  he 

1  Below,  Lecture  II.,  p.  87. 

2  In  Beitrage  zur  Zt.  f.  vergleichende  Sprachforschung,  V,  p.  206-8. 

8  Lefmann,  in  his  biography  of  Schleicher  (1870),  p.  62,  calls  it  "em 
zwar  interessanter,  aber  doch  nur  spielender  Versuch." 

*  Compendium  (3d  ed.),  p.  8,  "  Der  nachtheil,  dass  in  einzelnen  fallen 
die  von  uns  erschlosseuen  formen  der  Indogermanischen  ursprache  mer 
oder  minder  zweifelhaft  sind  .  .  ."  —  The  only  passage  which  (if  taken 
isolated)  does  not  seem  to  be  in  harmony  with  this  view  is  found  in  the 
Additions  aud  Corrections  to  the  second  edition  of  the  Compendium  (in 
the  Indogermanische  Chrestomathie,  p.  342).  This  statement  was  subse- 
sequently  (beginning  with  the  third  ed.)  added  to  the  passage  quoted 
at  the  beginning  of  this  note.  It  reads :  "  Eine  auf  die  lautstufe  der 
indogermanischen  ursprache  zuriickgef iihrte  form  nennen  wir  grundform 
(z.  b.  lat.  generis,  gruudf.  ganasas ;  griech.  ffvovs,  grundf.  ganasas).  Erst 
dann  wenn  formen  verschiedener  lautstufen  auf  eiue  und  dieselbe  laut- 
stufe gebracht  sind,  lassen  sie  sich  mit  einauder  vergleichen.  Dass  dise 
grundformen  wirklich  einmal  vorhandeu  gewesen  sind,  wird  durch  die 
aufstellnng  derselben  nicht  behauptet."  From  the  context  it  would  ap- 
pear that  the  emphasis  in  the  last  sentence  should  be  placed  on  the  dise 
before  grundformen,  the  meaning  being  that  it  is  not  claimed  that  just 
these  forms  actually  existed,  i.  e.,  that  subsequent  investigations  may 
change  them  in  particulars.  So  also  Delbriick,  Einleitung  (English 
transl.),  p.  50  ai:d  53. 

41 


LECTURES   ON   THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

refers  to  minor  imperfections  which  are  due,  in  practice, 
to  the  incompleteness  of  data  and  may,  perhaps,  be  re- 
moved by  increased  knowledge,  and  not  to  qualitative 
imperfections  of  the  method  itself.  And  in  the  eyes  of 
some  the  ultimate  reconstruction  of  the  Indo-European 
parent  language  has  been  the  ideal  of  all  special  com- 
parative investigation,  the  more  so  as  it  seemed  the  key 
to  open  to  us  the  mysteries  of  a  prehistoric  civilization. 
"I  had  originally  intended, " says  Fick,  in  the  preface  to 
the  fourth  edition  of  his  Comparative  Dictionary  (1890), 
"  a  work  on  a  much  larger  scale.  I  had  in  view  to  add 
to  the  lexicon  of  the  Indo-European  parent  language 
also  its  grammar,  and,  furthermore,  a  sketch  of  the 
civilization  of  the  parent  people.  But  the  time  for 
doing  this  has  not  yet  come.  There  is  need  of  more 
works  like  J.  Schmidt's  Pluralbildungen,  before  we 
may  dare  approach  the  reconstruction  of  the  grammar  of 
the  parent  language.  ..." 

26  The  comparative  treatment,  so  conceived,  differs 
from  the  historical  treatment  not  in  aim  but  in  method. 
In  fact,  it  joins  hands  with  the  latter,  and  endeavors  to 
extend  its  scope  beyond  the  line  of  the  earliest  historical 
records  into  the  prehistoric  past.  So  that  the  two  can- 
not properly  be  contrasted  with  each  other,  for  compara- 
tive grammar,  in  Schleicher's  sense,  is  in  its  essence 
nothing  but  historical  grammar  by  comparative  method.1 

1  I  quite  agree  with  Paul  (Principien,  3d  ed.,  p.  21,  §  11),  that  "  his- 
torische  Grammatik  "  and  "  vergleichende  Grammatik  "  [this  latter  in  the 
sense  of  the  preceding  paragraphs],  cannot  be  contrasted,  but  are  both 
"  ein  und  dieselbe  Wissenschaft  mit  derselben  Aufgabe."  But  I  should 
not  continue,  as  Paul  does,  "  und  der  gleichen  Methode."  For  it  seems  to 
me  that  their  respective  methods  are  the  very  point  in  which  the  two 
differ,  as  Paul  himself  implies  when  he  continues :  "  nur  dass  das  Ver- 
haltnis  zwischen  dem  durch  Uberlieferung  Gegebenen  und  der  kombina- 
torischen  Thatigkeit  sich  verschieden  gestaltet." 

42 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

The  basis  upon  which  most  philological  work  rests  is 
the  direct  evidence  of  extant  records  (literary  remains, 
monuments,  etc.).  The  historical  method  taught  the 
student  to  arrange  these  so  that  by  an  unbroken  line  the 
most  recent  ones  should  be  connected  with  the  oldest. 
But  with  these  oldest  direct  records  the  historical  method 
came  to  a  halt,  because  direct  testimony  was  exhausted. 
It  was  here,  then,  that  the  comparative  method  of  deal- 
ing with  cognate  languages  supplied  a  means  by  which 
the  still  earlier,  prehistoric  periods  might  be  opened  up, 
so  that  a  proper  setting  might  be  furnished  to  these 
oldest  historical  periods  and  a  sequence  be  established 
which  for  want  of  evidence  would  otherwise  have  been 
broken.  But  while  for  historic  periods  the  investigator 
deals  with  the  direct  evidence  and  extant  records,  the 
comparative  philologist  deals  with  indirect  evidence  and 
inferred  records.1  The  comparative  philologist  who  in- 
vestigates anything  pertaining  to  the  prehistoric  Indo- 
European  people  upon  the  indirect  evidence  furnished 
by  the  extant  historical  nations  is  in  the  same  position 
in  which  the  Latin  philologist  would  be,  if  Rome  had 
left  no  remains  whatever  and  the  Romance  nations 
formed  the  starting-point  of  his  inferential  work.2  If 
the  deductions  of  the  historical  philologist  are  once 
removed  from  the  extant  facts,  those  of  the  comparative 

1  On  the  difference  between  direct  and  presumptive  or  circumstantial 
evidence,  cf.  e.  g.  Greenleaf,  I,  §  13  (Redf.  ed.). 

2  W.  v.  Schlegel  says  in  his  Reflexions  (1832),  p.  31,  about  Bopp's 
work :  "  On  ne  saurait  le  blamer  d'avoir  essaye  de  montrer  comment  les 
formes  variees  du  Sanscrit  decoulent  de  certains  principes  foudamentanx. 
Mais  dans  les  recherches  sur  1'unite  primitive  des  langues  d'une  memo 
famille,  lorsque  nous  essayons  de  nous  faire  une  ide'e  de  leur  formation 
gradnelle,  et  de  remonter  a  une  e'poque  de  1'antiqnite   dont  il  n'existe 
point  de  monumens  ecrits,  nous  sommes  sur  un  autre  terrain  que  quand  il 
s'agit  des  regies  positives  d'une  langue  fixee  par  1'usage  depuis  nn  temps 
immemorial." 

43 


LECTURES  ON   THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

philologist  are  twice  removed,  so  that  the  former  has 
one  source  of  error,  the  latter  two.  For  example,  the 
answer  to  the  question,  "  Was  it  customary  among  the 
ancient  Hindoos  to  abandon  new-born  females  ?  "  turns 
on  the  correct  interpretation  of  the  term  pardsyanti  in  a 
certain  Vedic  passage.1  But  in  order  to  answer  the 
question,  "Was  it  customary  among  the  prehistoric 
Indo- Europeans2  to  abandon  new-born  females?"  it  is 
not  only  necessary  to  investigate  this  custom  for  the 
individual  historical  Indo-European  nations,  but  to  go 
a  step  farther  and  assume,  first,  the  impossibility  of  in- 
dependent development  of  such  a  habit  among  these 
nations,  or  of  its  spread  by  borrowing,  and  second,  the 
existence  of  a  similar  locution  for  the  Indo-European 
from  which  the  Indo-European  habit  might  be  deduced 
as  that  of  the  other  nations  has  been  from  their  respec- 
tive phrases.  This  is  the  "additional  presumption  or 
inference "  which  characterizes  indirect  evidence  and 
distinguishes  it  from  direct. 

27     From  a  point  of  view  radically  differing  from  that 
discussed  in  the  preceding  paragraphs,3  Wilhelm  von 

1  Taittirlya  S.  VI,  5,  10,  3.    Cf.  Boehtlingk,  Zt.  d.  deut.  morgenl.  Ges., 
XXXXIV,  p.  494,  and  Berichte  d.  k.  sachs.  Ges.  d.  W.  (1900),  p.  423. 

2  Cf.  Schrader,  Reallexicon  der  indogermanischen  Alterthumskunde 
(1900),  p.  53. 

8  In  an  address  delivered  June  27, 1846  (printed  in  Lassen's  Zt.  f.  d. 
Kunde  des  Morgenlandes,  VII  (1850),  p.  25  ff.),  Schleicher  makes  the  fol- 
lowing threefold  division  of  the  comparative  study  of  language :  (p.  32)  ... 
"sofern  sie  (die  Sprachvergleichung)  die  Erforschung  und  Aufstellung 
immanenter  Gesetze  der  Sprachentwicklung  ist  (erscheint  sie)  verwandt 
mit  sprachphilosophischen  Studien ;  betrachten  wir  die  Sprachen  mit 
Hinblick  auf  die  sie  redenden  Volker,  so  gestaltet  sich  die  Sprachver- 
gleichung zur  Geschichte ;  fassen  wir  den  Zustand  der  Sprachen  an  sich 
in's  Auge,  und  suchen  wir  denselben  in  seinem  Verhaltniss  zu  verwandten 
Sprachen  zn  begreifen,  so  haben  wir  die  comparative  Grammatik."  He 
calls  these  three  points  of  view  the  "  philosophical,"  "  historical,"  and 
"grammatical"  respectively.  Under  the  first  head  he  points  (a)  to  the 

44 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

Humboldt  approached  the  comparison  of  languages. 
To  his  greatest  and  perhaps  best-known  work,  Ueber 
die  Kawi-Sprache  (1836),  he  prefixed  an  introduction, 
"  On  the  structural  differences  of  human  language  and 
its  influence  on  the  mental  development  of  the  human 
race, " J  and  in  so  framing  the  title  he  himself  has  briefly 
and  clearly  denned  what  appeared  to  him  the  salient 
points  in  all  linguistic  investigation,  namely,  the  study 
of  the  structural  difference  of  the  various  languages2 
and  the  relation  of  speech  and  thought.  "  The  theme 
(of  linguistic  science),"  he  says  in  his  earliest  essay 
(1821), 3  "is  the  difference  of  languages;  this  must  be 
treated  inductively  and  historically,  with  reference  to 
its  causes  and  its  effects,  in  its  relation  to  nature  and 
to  the  fate  and  aims  of  mankind." 

We   are  here   concerned   with   the   method   only  of 
Humboldt's  structural  analysis.     In  order  to  accomplish 

similarity  in  structural  development  in  both  related  and  unrelated  lan- 
guages, (b)  to  similarity  in  phonetic  development.  Here  belong  also 
questions  touching  the  relation  of  speech  and  thought  and  the  origin  of 
language.  The  second  aspect  deals  with  the  ethnological  information  of 
prehistoric  times  which  may  be  derived  from  a  comparison  of  languages, 
which  thus  appears  as  a  valuable  ally  of  history.  By  the  grammatical 
point  of  view  he  understands  Bopp's  structural  analysis,  which  substitutes 
for  the  earlier  "  empirisch-deacriptive  Methode  "  a  "  historisch-erklarende 
Methode." 

1  Ueber  die  Kawi-Sprache  auf  der  Insel  Java,  nebst  einer  Einleitnng 
iiber  die  Verschiedenheit  des  menschlichen  Sprachbaues  und  ihren  Einfluss 
auf  die  geistige  Entwicklung  des  Menschengeschlechts,  1836-1839.     (In 
three  volumes.)     The  preface  is  reprinted  in  Hnmboldt's  Ges.  Werke,  VI, 
p.  1-425.    Pott  published  an  annotated  edition  in  1876,  to  which  is  prefixed 
an  essay  on  Humboldt's  place  in  linguistic  science. 

2  Entirely  Hnmboldtian  in  conception  is  James  Byrne's  General  Prin- 
ciples of  the  Structure  of  Language  (1885). 

3  Ueber  das  vergleichende  Sprachstndium  in  Beziehnng  auf  die  ver- 
schiedenen  Epochen  der  Sprachentwicklnng "  in  Abhandl.  d.  k.  Akad.  d. 
Wiss.  zu  Berlin  (for  1820-1,  published  1822),  p.  239  =  Ges.  Werke,  in, 
p.  247. 

45 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

this  successfully,  two  things  seem  to  him  essential.  In 
the  first  place,  a  minute  description  of  the  whole  gram- 
matical plan  of  the  largest  possible  number  of  languages. 
"It  is  of  importance,"  he  says  in  the  essay  just  quoted,1 
"  to  analyze  each  language  carefully.  For  the  greatest 
defect  of  General  Linguistics  is,  that  we  have  not  yet 
penetrated  deeply  enough  in  our  knowledge  of  the  indi- 
vidual languages,  and  without  such  intimate  acquaint- 
ance the  comparison  of  no  matter  how  many  is  of  no 
avail.  It  has  been  deemed  sufficient  to  register  isolated, 
abnormal  peculiarities  of  grammar.  .  .  .  But  the  dialect 
of  even  the  least  civilized  nation  is  too  noble  a  work  of 
nature  to  be  broken  to  pieces  in  this  random  way  and  to 
be  offered  for  inspection  in  fragments  only.  It  is  an 
organic  whole  and  must  be  treated  as  such."  In  the 
second  place  he  requires  that  some  one  definite  struc- 
tural form  should  be  traced  through  all  languages.  "  If 
one  studies  the  manner  in  which  a  given  grammatical 
form  is  treated  in  the  various  languages,  how  it  is 
elaborated  or  neglected,  cast  in  some  peculiar  shape, 
connected  with  other  forms,  expressed  with  simple 
directness  or  in  some  roundabout  way,  a  new  light  is 
often  shed  upon  the  character  of  this  particular  form 
and  also  on  the  (structural)  qualities  of  the  different 
languages  considered."2  A  specimen  of  this  latter 
method  is  Humboldt's  essay  on  the  Dual  (1827),  from 
which  the  passage  just  quoted  is  taken.3  Long  before 
Humboldt  we  meet  with  attempts  at  a  philosophical 
treatment  of  grammar,  but  these  are  all  logical  a  priori 

1  Ges.  Werke,  III,  p.  249. 

2  "  Ueber  den  Dualis  "  in  Abhandl.  d.  k.  Akad.  d.  Wiss.  z.  Berlin  (for 
1827,  published  1830),  p.  161  =  Ges.  Werke,  VI,  p.  562. 

8  Another  example  is  H.  C.  v.  d.  Gabelentz's  Uber  das  Passivum  (in 
Abhandlungen  d.  k.  sachs.  Ges.  d.  W.,  Ill  [1861],  p.  449-546). 

46 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

constructions,  as  Pott1  has  well  expressed  it:  "Die 
logische  Allgemeine  Grammatik  will  der  Sprache  gleich- 
sam  vorausdenken  ihren  Ursprung,  ihren  Entwicklungs- 
gang,  ihre  Methode,  ihre  Formen  und  Mittel. "  In 
Humboldt's  works  we  have  a  continual  struggle  to  break 
away  from  this  deductive  method  which  first  constructs 
its  system  and  then  turns  to  the  facts  for  illustration, 
and  a  conscientious  endeavor  to  substitute  for  it  an  in- 
ductive method  which  should  derive  its  system  from  an 
observation  of  the  facts  only.  He  carefully  contrasts 
the  use  of  each  grammatical  form  as  it  actually  exists  in 
a  given  language  with  that  which  may  be  deductively 
constructed,  and  warns  against  the  one-sided  "system- 
atizing mania  "  to  which  a  deductive  process  in  working 
out  the  laws  of  a  language  must  invariably  lead.2 
"  Linguistic  science,  as  I  understand  it,  must  be  based 
upon  facts  alone,  and  their  collection  must  be  neither 
one-sided  nor  incomplete."3 

All  languages  are  to  Humboldt  so  many  attempts  to 
realize  a  speech  ideal;4  they  all  strive  after  the  same 

1  Wilhelm  v.  Humboldt    und   die  Sprachwissenschaft  (=vol.   I  of 
Pott's  edition  [1876]  of  Humboldt's  "  Ueber  die   Verschiedenheit,  etc.") 
p.  Ixxxix. 

2  "  In  Absicht  der  Form  selbst  aber  steht  nunmehr  der  von  ihr  wirklich 
gemachte  Gebrauch  demjenigen  gegeniiber,  der  sich  aus  ihrem  blossen 
Begriff  ableiten  lasst,  was  von  tier  einseitigen  Systemsucht  bewahrt,  in  die 
man  nothwendig  verfallt,  wenn  man  die  Gesetze  der  wirklich  vorhandenen 
Sprachen  nach  blossen  Begriffen  bestimmt."    Ges.  Werke,  VI,  p.  563. 
On  Humboldt's  inductive  method,  cf.  Benfey,  Gesch.  d.  Sprachw.,  p.  521  f. 

8  Ges.  Werke,  III,  p.  250. 

*  Ges.  W.,  VI,  p.  10,  "Sieht  man  nun  .  .  .  jede  Sprache  als  einen 
Versuch,  und  wenn  man  die  Heine  der  Sprachen  zusammennimmt,  als 
einen  Beitrag  znr  Ausfiillung  dieses  Bediirfnisses  [i.  e.  der  Hervorbrin- 
gung  der  Sprache  .  .  .  zur  Unterhaltung  gemeinsamen  Verkehrs  (und) 
.  .  .  znr  Entwickeluug  (der)  geistigen  Krafte  und  zur  Gewinnung  einer 
Weltanschauung]  so  lasst  sich  wohl  annehmen,  dass  die  sprachbildende 
Kraft  in  der  Menschheit  nicht  ruht,  bis  sie,  sei  es  einzeln,  sei  es  im 

47 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

goal,  but  they  reach  it  in  various  ways ; l  each  one  must 
meet  certain  requirements,  but  each  one  meets  them 
after  its  own  fashion.  An  investigation  of  the  indi- 
vidual languages  will  show  the  different  ways  in  which 
the  separate  national  units  have  proceeded  to  build  up 
the  structure  of  their  respective  languages;  and  "as 
naturalists  since  Aristotle  have  arranged  natural  organ- 
isms in  an  ascending  line,  not  by  constructing  d  priori 
the  ideal  or  the  '  absolute  form  '  of  an  animal,  but  with 
reference  to  the  success  with  which  these  organisms 
accomplish  their  purpose,  so  the  linguist  should  recognize 
in  the  various  languages  a  graded  series  of  attempts  by 
which  the  purpose  of  speech  has  been  more  or  less 
successfully  realized,  not  by  comparing  each  with  an 
a  priori  ideal  or  an  '  absolute  form '  of  speech,  but  by 
judging  each  according  to  the  adequacy  with  which  it 
reflects  thought."2 

This  is  the  method  which  later  in  the  hands  of  the 
ethnologists  becomes  so  valuable  an  instrument  of  re- 
search by  which  "the  phenomena  of  Culture  may  be 
classified  and  arranged,  stage  by  stage,  in  a  probable 

Ganzen  das  hervorgebracht  hat,  was  den  zu  machenden  Forderungen 
am  meisten  und  am  vollstandigsten  entspricht.  Es  kann  sich  also, 
im  Sinne  dieser  Voraussetzung,  auch  unter  Sprachen  und  Sprach- 
stammen,  welche  keinen  geschichtlichen  Zusammenhang  verrathen  ein 
stufenweis  verschiedenes  Vorriicken  des  Princips  ihrer  Bildung  auffinden 
lassen." 

1  Ges.  W.,  VI,  p.  32.  "  Wenn  aber  das  Gleiche  gesucht  wird,  kann  es 
doch  nur  in  verschiedenem  Geiste  errungen  werden ;  und  die  Mannig- 
faltigkeit,  in  welcher  sich  die  menschliche  Eigenthiimlichkeit,  ohne  fehler- 
hafte  Einseitigkeit,  auszusprechen  vermag,  geht  ins  Unendliche."  p.  40 : 
"  Man  kann  nun  dem  Ziele  naher  riicken,  die  einzeluen  Wege  anzugeben, 
anf  welchen  den  mannigfach  abgetheilten,  isolirten,  und  verbundenen 
Volkerhaufen  des  Menschengeschlechts  das  Geschaft  der  Spracherzeu- 
gung  zur  Vollendung  gedeiht." 

a  Steinthal,  Die  Sprachwissenschaft  W.  v.  Humboldt's  (1848),  p.  137 
(abbreviated  in  the  translation). 

48 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

order  of  evolution ; " 1  the  same  method  which  Hermann 
Post2  has  applied  with  great  success  to  the  scientific 
study  of  jurisprudence,  and  which  he  well  characterizes 
as  follows :  "  It  cannot  be  denied  that  a  mass  of  homo- 
geneous ethnic  facts  are  found  among  peoples  for  which 
genealogical  connection  can  be  neither  proved  nor 
claimed.  .  .  .  The  method  which  investigates  such 
ethnic  facts  without  reference  to  their  historical  connec- 
tion is  to  be  termed  the  comparative  method  of  ethnol- 
ogy. At  bottom  it  is  nothing  but  the  empirical  method 
upon  as  extended  a  basis  as  possible.  .  .  .  The  compar- 
ative method  of  ethnology  differs  from  the  historical 
method,  in  that  it  arranges  the  empirical  material  from 
an  entirely  different  point  of  view.  The  historical 
method  endeavors  to  discover  the  causes  for  the  ethnic 
facts  of  a  people  by  tracing  the  development  of  these 
facts  out  of  prior  facts.  .  .  .  The  comparative  method, 
on  the  other  hand,  attempts  to  reach  the  causes  of 
ethnic  facts  by  a  comparison  of  identical  or  similar  phe- 
nomena without  reference  to  place  or  time  of  their 
occurrence  and  inferring  from  them  identical  or  similar 
causes.  It  is  therefore  entirely  unhistoric.  Its  manner 
of  arrangement  of  these  facts  is  wholly  different  from 
that  [of  the  historical  method] ;  it  separates  what  has 

1  Tylor,  Primitive  Culture  (1st  American  =  2d  Engl.  ed.,  1874),  p.  6. 
Cf .  especially :  "  Little  respect  need  be  had  in  such  comparisons  for  date 
in  history  or  for  place  on  the  map,"  and  (p.  7)  :  "  For  the  present  pur- 
pose it  appears  both  possible  and  desirable  to  eliminate  considerations  of 
hereditary  varieties  or  races  of  man  and  to  treat  mankind  as  homo- 
geneous in  nature  though  placed  in  different  grades  of  civilization." 

2  Cf.  the  detailed  discussion  in  Th.  Achelis'  Moderne  Volkerkunde 
(1896),  p.  270  ff.    [An  enlargement  of  the  same  author's  Die  Entwicke- 
lung  der  modernen  Ethnologie  (1889),  where  Post  is  discussed,  p.  113  f.] ; 
also   Achelis'  A.  H.  Post  und  die  vergleichende  Rechtswissenschaft  in 
Sammlung    gemeinverstandlicher  wissenschaftlicher  Vortrage  begr.  v. 
Virchow  u.  Holtzendorff,  Heft  252  =  N.  F.  XI.  Folge,  p.  481  (1896). 

4  49 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

been  held  to  belong  together,  and  connects  the  fragments 
in  a  way  which,  from  the  standpoint  of  the  historical 
method,  must  appear  arbitrary."1 

It  is  in  this  sense  only  that  we  speak  of  Compara- 
tive Literature,  while  the  terms  Comparative  Mythol- 
ogy and  Comparative  Philology  cover  both  comparative 
methods,  namely,  that  of  comparing  cognate  religions 
and  languages  for  the  sake  of  proving  affinity  and 
opening  up  prehistoric  periods,  and  again  that  of  com- 
paring them  without  reference  to  time  and  place. 

While  Humboldt  and  the  few  who  have  followed  him 
have  used  this  comparison  of  unrelated  languages  chiefly 
for  the  elucidation  of  syntactical  questions,  such  as  gen- 
der, or  the  passive,  or  for  the  structural  classification  of 
existing  languages  into  groups,  there  is  no  reason  which 
forbids  its  application  to  other  linguistic  problems.  And 
Schleicher,2  as  early  as  1848,  made  an  attempt  to  treat 

1  Post,  Bausteine  fur  eine  allgemeine  Rechtswissenschaft  auf  ethno- 
logischer  Basis  (1880-81),  I,  p.  12. 

2  Schleicher,   Sprachvergleichende    Untersuchungen.    I.  Znr  verglei- 
chenden  Sprachgeschichte,  1848.     Cf.  especially  p.  25  f.     "  Im  Bisherigen 
sahen  wir,  dass  a  priori  ans  der  iiberall  im  Wesentlichen  identischen 
Natur  des  Menschen  erschlossen  werden  konne,  dass  die  verschiedenen 
Sprachen  in  ihrem  Verfalle  [the  peculiar  idea  of  regarding  all  historical 
development  of  languages  as  decay  is  repeatedly  emphasized  by  Schleicher, 
and  rests  upon  Hegel's  conception  of  History  and  his  contrast  between 
historic  and  prehistoric  periods.    It  does  not  now  need  refutation]  we- 
sentlich  gleiche  Phasen  zeigen.   Doch  damit  ist  dem  nichtphilosophischen, 
auf  strenge  vorurtheilsfreie  Beobachtnng  haltenden  Sprachforscher  noch 
nicht  geniigt.     Es  handelt  sich  darnm  zuzusehen,  ob  und  in  wie  weiten 
Kreisen  sich  an  den  gegebenen  Sprachen  iibereinstimmende  geschichtliche 
Momente  auffindeu  lassen.    Bekannt  ist  hier  der  allgemeine  Gegensatz 
synthetischer  und  analytischer  Sprachen  ;  ferner  speciell  das  Beispfel  der 
romanischeu  Sprachen  und  des  Prakrit,  die  sich  aus  Latein  und  Sanskrit 
auf  eine  iiberraschend  analoge  Weise  entwickelt  haben  u.  s.  w.  Dass  aber 
sammtliche  indogermanische  Sprachen,  ja  Sprachen   nicht  indogerma- 
nischen  Stammes  einen  im  Wesentlichen  iibereinstimmenden  Verlanf,  nicht 
nur  in  den  allgemeinsten  Umrissen,  sondern  in  ganz  speciellen  Erschei- 

50 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

the  phonetic  phenomenon  of  palatalization 1  from  this 
point  of  view,  in  order  to  show  that  the  development  of 
unrelated  languages  may  run  parallel  not  only  in  general 
points  of  structure  (such  as  the  parallelism  of  the 
Prakritic  and  Romance  languages  in  changing  from  the 
synthetic  to  the  analytic  character),  but  also  in  very 
definite  particulars. 

28  If  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  comparison  of  similar 
objects  without  any  reference  to  their  genealogical  rela- 
tionship to  trace  the  same  social  phenomenon  through 
as  many  nations  as  possible  in  order  to  observe  its 
variations  and  its  unfolding  amidst  different  surround- 
ings, then  such  comparison  may  be  regarded  as  a  surro- 
gate for  that  indispensable  instrument  of  all  scientific 
research,  namely,  the  experiment,  where,  from  the 
nature  of  the  case,  direct  experimentation  is  impossible. 
One  of  the  most  serious  handicaps  for  the  student  of  any 
problem  of  social  science  is  that,  unlike  the  physicist 
or  chemist,  he  is  not  able  to  vary  at  will  the  conditions 
under  which  phenomena  or  objects  present  themselves. 
Nature  performs  on  a  very  large  scale  a  certain  number 
of  experiments  before  his  eyes,  but  he  can  be  a  spectator 
only  and  never  participate  in  them.  A  careful  analysis 
of  the  various  effects  which  have  been  produced  or  are 

nnngen  zeigen  davon  sollen  die  folgenden  Blatter  cine,  wenn  auch  kleine 
Probe  geben.  Absichtlich  habe  ich  nur  eine  einzige,  ganz  specielle 
Spracherscheinung  durch  so  viele  Sprachen  als  moglich  bindurch  verfolgt, 
von  der  Ansicht  geleitet,  dass  man  von  der  allerconcretesten  Beobachtung 
ausgehen  nnd  dem  Einzelnen  abzugewinnen  suchen  miisse,  durch  die 
man  spater  zu  Anderem  und  endlich  zu  umfassenden  Resultaten 
gelangt." 

1  This  investigation  is  noteworthy  both  for  the  breadth  of  its  histori- 
cal basis  (p.  40-118),  and  its  attempt  at  a  physiological  explanation  of 
palatalization  (p.  119-152).  It  should  be  compared  with  Lenz'  treatment 
of  the  same  problem,  forty  years  later,  in  Kuhn's  Zt.  XXIX  (1888), 
p.  Iff. 

51 


LECTURES   ON   THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

being  produced  by  different  localities,  times,  and  condi- 
tions upon  the  object  under  consideration  becomes 
doubly  important.  For  it  is  thus  that  he  may  be 
enabled  to  distinguish  between  what  is  accidental  and 
essential,  to  record  certain  uniform  tendencies,  to  ob- 
serve certain  sequences  the  members  of  which  stand  to 
each  other  in  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect ;  in  short, 
to  arrive  at  general  laws  of  development. 

The  element  of  time  and  place,  which  in  the  histori- 
cal treatment  was  all  important,  becomes  here  irrele- 
vant, for  in  a  comparative  investigation  of  this  kind  we 
are  not  concerned  with  the  questions  when  or  where  a 
certain  phenomenon  arose,  but  with  the  similarities  or 
differences  of  conditions  under  which  the  same  phenom- 
enon appears,  wherever  and  whenever  they  may  be 
found.  While  it  must  be  contrasted  with  the  historical 
method,  it  is  in  no  wise  opposed  to  it ;  on  the  contrary, 
each  of  the  two  methods  must  be  regarded  as  supple- 
menting the  other. 

29  All  these  various  phases  which  mark  the  progress  of 
linguistic  study  since  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century  have,  more  or  less  distinctly,  one  point  in  com- 
mon, namely,  the  emancipation  of  grammatical  studies 
from  philosophical   tutelage.     Even  a  man  of  so  pro- 
nounced a  philosophical  bent  of  mind  as  Humboldt  is 
borne  along  by  this  tide,  and  a  wide  gulf  separates  him 
from   Hermann  and   the  deductive   method  of  his  De 
emendanda  ratione    grammaticae   Graecae  (1801)  with 
Kant  as  arbiter  of  grammatical  questions. 

Drifting  thus  gradually  away  from  philosophy,  lin- 
guistic studies  necessarily  looked  for  new  moorings,  and 
a  number  of  circumstances  all  tended  toward  an  affilia- 
tion with  the  natural  sciences. 

30  Here  was  a  group  of  studies  which  were  rapidly  coming 

52 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

into  great  prominence  by  the  far-reaching  importance  of 
their  results,  by  the  exactness  of  their  methods,  and  by 
the  certainty  of  their  results.  The  superiority  based  on 
this,  which  the  natural  sciences  were  not  slow  to  assert, 
could  not  but  arouse  the  envy  of  those  who  worked 
along  other  lines,  and  kindled  the  desire  for  an  alliance. 
Schleicher,  in  whom  this  tendency  culminated,  wrote 
his  Open  Letter  to  Ernst  Hackel  (Die  Darwinsche 
Theorie  und  die  Sprachwissenschaft,  1873),  with  the 
avowed  purpose  of  introducing  the  method  of  the  nat- 
ural sciences  among  students  of  language:  "The  fol- 
lowing lines  will  perhaps  induce  one  or  another  young 
student  of  language  to  seek  instruction  concerning 
method  from  an  able  botanist  or  zoologist.  Take  my 
word,  he  will  not  regret  it.  I,  for  one,  know  very  well 
what  I  owe  to  the  study  of  works  like  Schleiden's 
Wissenschaftliche  Botanik,  Carl  Vogt's  Physiologische 
Brief e,  etc.,  for  an  insight  into  the  nature  and  life  of 
language.  For  they  first  taught  me  what  evolution  is. 
Among  the  scientists  one  may  learn  that  for  science 
those  facts  only  count  which  are  established  by  sure  and 
strictly  objective  observation,  and  only  that  inference 
which  is  properly  based  upon  such  facts ;  a  knowledge 
which  might  prove  of  value  to  some  of  my  colleagues. 
Subjective  interpretation,  unfounded  etymologies,  vague 
and  random  guessing,  in  brief,  all  those  things  which 
deprive  linguistic  studies  of  their  strictness  and  degrade 
them  or  even  make  them  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  sensi- 
ble people,  will  be  distasteful  to  one  who  has  learnt  to 
place  himself  upon  the  standpoint  of  sober  observation. 
Nothing  but  exact  observation  of  organisms  and  the 
laws  of  their  lives,  nothing  but  absolute  devotion  to 
its  objects  must  form  the  foundation  of  our  branch  of 
study.  Any  assertion  without  firm  basis,  though  it  be 

53 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

never  so  brilliant,  is  absolutely  devoid  of  all  scientific 
value." 

31  At  the  same  time  syntax,  the  stronghold  of  philoso- 
phy, began  to  be  neglected,  and  since  Bopp  the  current 
of  noteworthy  investigations  turns  toward  a  study  of 
the  formal  side  of  speech.  It  was  early  seen  that  a 
comparative  study  of  the  grammatical  structure  of  lan- 
guages such  as  Bopp  proposed  could  not  be  profitably 
carried  out  except  upon  the  firm  foundation  of  phonol- 
ogy. Unflagging  and  strong  insistence  upon  this  point 
marks  Pott's  advance  over  his  predecessors.1  In  writ- 
ing the  first  edition  of  his  Etymologische  Forschungen 
(1833)  he  had  been  "especially  and  in  what  might 
appear  to  some  an  unwarranted  degree  concerned  with 
the  establishment  of  etymological  sound-laws,"  and, 
though  in  the  preface  to  the  second  edition  of  the  same 
work  (1859)  a  comprehensive  treatment  of  phonology  is 
reserved  for  a  third  volume,  "it  goes  without  saying 
that  I  have  not,  on  that  account,  relaxed  the  severity  of 
method,  which  must  be  preserved  at  all  hazards ;  and  the 
sound-laws,  though  for  the  moment  kept  in  the  back- 
ground, have  yet  never  been  lost  sight  of."2 

"Stimulated  especially  by  Bopp  and  Grimm,"  he 
says  elsewhere,3  "I  have  recognized  in  phonetics  one 
of  the  most  important  keys  which,  if  properly  handled, 
will  most  safely  unlock  etymology.  Often  it  is  almost 
the  only  means  or  absolutely  the  only  means  to  separate 
the  genuine  linguistic  kernel  from  its  deceptive  shell, 
and  to  reduce  the  corrupt  and  metamorphosed  linguistic 
material  to  its  original  and  characteristic,  i.  e.  its  tnie 

1  Cf.  Delbriick,  Einleitung  (Engl.  transl.),  p.  35 ;  Vergleich.  Syntax,  I, 
p.  37  ;  Misteli,  Zt.  f.  Volkerpsych.  u.  Sprachwiss.,  XI,  p.  375. 

2  Etymol.  Forsch.,  I  (2d  ed.),  p.  viii. 

8  Etymol.  Forsch.,  II  (1st  ed.),  p.  349. 

54 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

form.  Without  it,  it  is  vain  to  attempt  to  draw  a  line 
between  cognate  and  borrowed  words,  and  one  is  com- 
pelled to  refrain  from  those  inferences  which  may  be 
based  upon  the  latter  as  to  the  intercourse  and  exchange 
of  ideas  among  nations." 

Thenceforward  this  preponderance  of  phonetics  and 
the  formal  side  of  word-formation  (morphology)  steadily 
grows ;  they  dwarf  syntax  in  the  manuals,  and  it  even 
becomes  possible  to  publish  "  Grammars  "  which  contain 
no  syntax  whatever.1 

And  in  phonetics  was  found  something  like  that  regu- 
larity, that  definiteness,  which  the  natural  sciences 
seemed  to  possess.  Historical  investigation  revealed  a 
large  mass  of  regular  sequences  which  could  be  sum- 
marized in  simple  formulae,  much  as  the  scientists  for- 
mulated their  laws ;  further  study  continually  removed 
what  at  first  had  seemed  unaccountable  exceptions; 
Grimm's  law,  —  Verner's  amendment  to  it,  —  the  Pala- 
tal law,  — are  the  most  important  milestones  along  this 
line  of  development  which  culminates  in  the  neo- 
grammarian  movement  (beginning  with  1876).  In  1833 
Pott  had  said  that  "  letters  [=  sounds]  are  the  tangible 
element  in  language,  not  stationary,  to  be  sure,  but 
pursuing,  on  the  whole,  an  even  line  of  development " 
as  contrasted  with  "  the  boldly  erratic  course  of  word- 
signification  ; "  forty-six  years  later  Paul 2  could  assert 
"  that  every  phonetic  law  operates  with  absolute  neces- 
sity, that  it  as  little  admits  of  an  exception  as  a  chemical 
or  physical  law."  In  phonetics,  then,  there  seemed  to 

1  The  Indo-European  grammars  in  Breitkopf  und  Hartel's  series  are 
composed  on  this  plan. 

2  In  Paul  nnd  Braune's  Beitrage,  VI  (1879),  p.  1.    But  see  the  modifi- 
cation of  this  extreme  view  in  his  Principien  (3d  ed.),  p.  61,  §  46.  —  A  de- 
tailed discussion  of  the  question  of  "  phonetic  law  "  follows  below,  in  the 
fourth  lecture. 

55 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

be  the  realization  of  Schleicher's  dream :  definite  objects, 
a  method  of  ever-increasing  rigor,  uniformity  of  devel- 
opment, no  temptation  to,  or  need  of,  speculation.  And 
the  frequent  excursions  into  the  adjacent  fields  of  physi- 
ology and  acoustics  which  the  study  of  phonetics  de- 
mands would  only  tend  to  strengthen  the  connection  of 
this  branch  (and  with  it  of  linguistic  science  in  general) 
with  the  natural  sciences. 

32  And  from  another  quarter  also  this  belief  drew 
strength.  I  refer  to  the  conception  of  language  as  an 
independent  organism.  This  view  is  only  the  natural 
consequence  of  the  romantic  revival  of  the  "organic 
doctrine"  as  a  reaction  against  the  "mechanical  doc- 
trine "  of  the  Illuminati.  "  An  especial  charm  is  now 
connected  with  the  thought  that  everywhere  in  the 
world,  but  especially  in  the  history  of  social  life,  devel- 
opment is  due  to  an  inward  impulse;  rests  upon  a 
secure,  natural  foundation;  proceeds  by  even,  not  by 
jerky  steps ;  is  not  the  result  of  artistic,  conscious  pur- 
pose, but  of  an  inborn  instinct,  which  only  gradually 
comes  to  know  itself;  is  not  the  work  of  individuals 
with  their  small  circle  of  interests  and  their  indifference 
to  each  other,  but  of  the  soul  and  force  of  a  whole 
community.  The  organic  conception  seemed  here  as 
superior  to  the  mechanical  doctrine  as  the  living  is  to 
the  dead."1  There  is  a  certain  amount  of  truth  in  all 
this,  and  so  far  as  this  new  organic  theory  of  language 
opposed  and  put  an  end  to  the  belief  in  a  mechanical 
invention  of  speech  and  substituted  a  yevrjOefc  for  the 
Troirjdefc  of  the  preceding  period,  it  must  be  regarded  as 

1  Eucken,  Die  Grundbegriffe  der  Gegenwart  (2d  ed.,  1893),  p.  159. — 
Cf.  his  whole  chapter  on  "  Mechanisch-organisch,"  p.  153  ff. ;  also  Stein- 
thal's  exposition  and  criticism  in  Grammatik,  Logik  und  Psychologic 
(1855),  p.  1  ff. 

56 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

a  noteworthy  advance  and  of  distinct  assistance  in  the 
proper  understanding  of  linguistic  phenomena.  But 
when  it  went  beyond  this,  when  it  began  to  separate 
speech  from  the  speaker,  when  it  assumed  for  language 
an  independent  existence  and  a  development  according 
to  laws  of  its  own,  the  theory  became  dangerous  and 
turned  investigations  into  a  wrong  channel.  Yet  this 
is  plainly  the  view  held  by  Bopp,  who  opens  his  review 
(1827)  of  Grimm's  German  Grammar  with  the  words: 
"Languages  must  be  regarded  as  natural  organisms 
which  arise  according  to  definite  laws,  carry  within 
them  the  principle  of  their  life  according  to  which  they 
unfold  themselves,  and  gradually  die.  ..."  Stated 
with  a  certain  lack  of  definiteness1  and  concreteness 
which  is  noticeable  in  all  of  his  writings,  we  find  a 
similar  idea  in  Humboldt's  last  work  (1836).  "The 
origin  of  language  lies  so  deep  in  mankind  that  it  is 
not  permissible  to  regard  it  as  really  the  work  and 
creation  of  the  nations.  It  possesses  an  independent 
activity  which  clearly  manifests  itself,  although  its 
nature  remains  inexplicable ;  and,  viewed  in  this  light, 
language  is  not  the  result  of  any  activity  but  an  invol- 
untary emanation  of  the  mind,  not  a  work  of  the 
nations,  but  a  gift  of  their  fate  which  they  carry  within."  2 

1  On  Humboldt's  lack  of  definiteness  cf.  e.  g.  Steinthal  in  Grammatik, 
Logik  and  Psychologic  (1855),  p.  xx  f. 

2  Humboldt,  Ges.  Werke,  VI.  p.  5.    "  Es  giebt  aber  eine  Epoche,  in  der 
wir  nur  sie  [=die  Sprache]  erblicken,  wo  sie  nicht  die  geistige  Entwickelung 
bloss  begleitet,  sondern  ihre  Stelle  einnimmt.    Die  Sprache  entspringt 
zwar  aus  einer  Tiefe  der  Menschheit,  welche  iiberall  verbietet,  sie  als  ein 
eigentliches  Werk  und  als  eine  Schopfung  der  Volker  zu  betrachten.     Sie 
besitzt  eine  sich  nns  sichtbar  offenbarende,  wenn  auch  in  ihrem  Wesen 
unerklarliche,  Selbstthatigkeit,  nnd  ist,  von  dieser  Seite  betrachtet,  kein 
Erzengniss  der  Thatigkeit,  sondern  eine  Emanation  des  Geistes,  nicht  ein 
Werk  der  Nationen,  sondern  eine  ihnen  durch  ihr  inneres  Geschick  zuge- 
fallene  Gabe.     Sie  bedienen  sich  ihrer,  ohne  zn  wissen,  wie  sie  dieselbe 

57 


LECTURES   ON  THE   STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

The  next  lines  seem  to  imply  that  this  independence  is 
not  absolutely  complete,  for  each  language  must  adapt 
itself  to  the  peculiar  intellectual  habitus  of  every 
nation;  but  even  this  dependence  becomes  questionable 
when,  a  little  further  on,  it  is  stated  that  the  intellec- 
tual peculiarities  of  a  nation  may  not  improperly  be 
regarded  as  the  result  of  its  language.1 

With  Schleicher  this  view  has  reached  so  definite  a 
form  that  all  uncertainty  is  removed.  Languages  are 
to  him  "  natural  organisms,  which  arose  quite  indepen- 
dently of  the  human  will,  developed  according  to  defi- 
nite laws,  matured,  then  age  and  die;  they  possess  that 
succession  of  phenomena  which  is  usually  termed  '  life.' 
'  Glottic, '  the  science  of  language,  is  therefore  a  natural 
science,  its  method  is,  on  the  whole  and  in  general,  the 
same  as  that  of  the  other  natural  sciences."2 

Once  stated  in  so  clear  a  form,  this  theory  immediately 
met  with  opposition,3  and  its  weakness  and  faults  were 

gebildet  haben.  Demungeachtet  miissen  sich  die  Sprachen  doch  immer 
mit  und  an  den  aufbliihenden  Volkerstammen  entwickelt,  aus  ihrer  Geis- 
teseigenthiimlichkeit,  die  ihnen  manche  Beschrankung  aufgedriickt  hat, 
berausgesponnen  haben.  Es  ist  kein  leeres  Wortspiel,  wenn  man  die 
Sprache  als  in  Selbstthatigkeit  nur  aus  sich  entspringend  und  gottlich  frei, 
die  Sprachen  aber  als  gebunden  und  von  den  Nationen,  welchen  sie  ange- 
hb'ren  abhangig  darstellt." 

1  Ges.  Werke,  VI,  p.  33,  §  6 :  "  Da  die  Sprachen  unzertrennlich  mit  der 
innerster  Natur  des  Menschen  verwachsen  sind  und  weit  mehr  selbstthatig 
aus  ihr  hervorgehen  als  willkiirlich  von  ihr  erzeugt  werden,  so  konnte 
man  die  intellectuelle  Eigenthiimlichkeit  der  Volker  ebensowohl  ihre 
Wirkung  nennen.     Die  Wahrheit  ist,  dass  beide  zugleich  und  in  gegen- 
seitiger  Ubereinstimmung  aus  unerreichbarer  Tiefe  des  Gemiiths  hervor- 
gehen." 

2  As  early  as  1846  Schleicher  wrote  of  "  die  der  Naturwissenchaft  in 
gewisser  Beziehung  angehorige  Sprachwissenschaft "  (Lassen's  Zt.  f.  d. 
Kunde  d.  Morgenlandes,  VII  [1850],  p.  39). 

8  Cf.  e.  g.  Gaston  Paris  in  the  Eevne  Critique  (1868),  II.  Part,  p.  242. 
Whitney  in  Transact.  Amer.  Phil.  Assoc.  for  1871  (1872),  p.  35  =  Oriental 
and  Linguistic  Studies  (1873),  chapter  XI. 

58 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

pointed  out  to  such  good  effect  that  Whitney,1  in  1892, 
refused  "to  enter  into  a  serious  discussion  of  it;  for 
probably  no  student  of  languages  who  has  any  claim  to 
public  attention  agrees  with  "  it. 

33  To  these  three  causes  must  finally  be  added  the  ill- 
advised  and  misleading  metaphors  in  which  linguistic 
writers  indulged,  borrowing  their  terms  from  the  dis- 
secting-room and  the  physiological  and  biological 
laboratories.  All  language  is  so  fraught  with  meta- 
phors 2  that  even  with  constant  care  a  wrong  suggestion 
cannot  at  times  be  avoided.  But  in  scientific  work  the 
harm  of  figurative  phrases  is  incalculable,  however  much 
it  may  serve  to  brighten  the  style  and  impress  upon  it 
the  mark  of  brilliancy.  Nothing,  indeed,  is  more  dan- 
gerous than  the  use  of  figurative  terms  which  seem  so 
apt  that  they  cause  the  reader  to  forget  the  figure. 
When  we  read  in  Bopp  3  "  that  grammatical  forms  sprout 
forth  like  flowers  or  fruits,"  it  is  easy  to  forget  the 
"like  "  and  end  in  believing  with  Schleicher4  that  "  roots 
must  be  regarded  as  simple  speech  cells,  which  do  not 
yet  possess  special  organs  for  the  functions  of  noun, 
verb,  etc.,  and  in  which  these  functions  (the  grammati- 
cal relations)  are  as  little  differentiated  as  breathing  and 
digestion  in  unicellular  organisms  or  in  the  germ-cells 
of  the  higher  animals."  And  many  parallel  cases  6  could 

1  Max  Miiller  and  the  Science  of  Language  (1892),  p.  23 ;  cf.  also  p.  25. 

2  Cf.  Biese,  Die  Philosophie  des  Metaphorischen  (1893). 

8  In  his  review  of  Grimm's  Deutsche  Grammatik,  reprinted  in  Vokalis- 
mus  und  sprachvergleichende  Kritiken  (1836),  p.  1. 

4  Die  Darwinsche  Theorie  (1873),  p.  24. 

6  Against  the  use  of  metaphors  cf.  e.  g.  G.  Paris,  Revue  Critique, 
1868,  II.  Part,  p.  242,  with  references  to  his  Lecon  d'ouverture  du  cours  de 
grammaire  historiqne  de  la  langne  francaise  professe  a  la  Sorbonne  en 
1867  and  to  Drial's  De  la  forme  et  de  la  fonction  des  mots  (1866)  ;  Paris, 
review  of  Darmesteter's  La  vie  des  mots,  Journal  des  savants  (1887, 
Fevrier),  p.  66  f.;  Osthoff  and  Brugmann  (Morphologische  Untersu- 

59 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

be  given  where  anatomical,  physiological,  and  biological 
metaphors,  taken  literally,  have  led  to  similar  confusion, 
interesting  instances  of  the  reaction  of  word  upon 
thought.  Gaston  Paris  is  quite  right,  when  in  the 
course  of  a  strong  argument  against  the  abuse  of  terms 
like  "organism,"  "birth,"  "growth,"  "death,"  "strug- 
gle for  life,"  as  applied  to  language,  he  says  that  they 
are  only  so  many  anthropomorphic  weaknesses,  and  that 
"  the  savage  who  worships  the  axe  he  himself  has  made, 
or  who  believes  that  his  arrow  possesses  an  independent 
life  of  its  own,  proceeds  on  exactly  the  same  lines  as  the 
linguist  who  endows  with  life  groups  of  sound  of  which 
the  human  mind  makes  use.  .  .  .  One  might  almost 
believe  that  a  sort  of  sorcery,  such  as  was  attributed  to 
the  runes,  is  exercised  by  words  over  the  scholars  who 
proceed  to  analyze  them,  and  that  words  enjoy  inducing 
them  to  make  statements  which  in  their  innermost  soul 
they  do  not  believe." 

34  The  most  important  figure  in  the  psychological  reac- 
tion against  these  naturalistic  theories  is  H.  Steinthal. 
The  tendency  of  all  his  linguistic  work  shows  him  as 
Humboldt's  successor,1  but  his  advance  beyond  the 

chuDgen  I  [18781,  P-  xv)  argue  strongly  against  a  view  which  "  die  sprache 
und  sprachformen  ein  leben  fur  sich,  iiber  den  sprechenden  individuen, 
fiihren  lasst,  and  wo  man  sich  von  der  terminologie  in  solchem  grade 
beherrschen  lasst,  dass  man  fortwahrend  bildliche  ausdriicke  fiir  die  wirk- 
lichkeit  selbst  nimmt,  nnd  begriffe,  die  lediglich  grammatische  anschau- 
tmgsformen  sind,  in  die  sprache  selbst  hineintragt.  Wenn  es  nur 
jemand  fertig  brachte,  die  so  gemeinschadlichen  ausdriicke  '  jugendalter ' 
nnd  'greisenalter '  der  sprachen,  an  denen  .  .  .  bisher  fast  nur  finch  und 
kaum  ein  segeu  geheftet  hat,  fiir  immer  aus  der  welt  zu  schaffen ; " 
Wnndt,  in  Deutsche  Rundschau  (1891),  p.  197;  V.  Henry,  Antinomies 
linguistiques  (1896),  p.  9  f.,  under  the  headings  "Une  langue  ne  nait 
pas  " ;  "  Une  langne  ne  croit  pas  " ;  "  Une  langne  ne  meurt  pas  " ;  Bre'al, 
Essai  de  Semantique  (1897),  p.  4. 

1  Cf.  the  eulogiura  with  which  Steinthal  opens  his  Commentatio  de 
Pronomine  Relative  (1847)  :  '  Itaqne  nobis  hoc  unum  agendum  videtur  ut 

60 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

latter  is  marked,  notably  in  two  ways:  he  placed  lin- 
guistics upon  a  definite  psychological  basis,1  and  he 
recognized  that  these  linguistic  phenomena  were  differ- 
ent in  character  from  the  psychological  phenomena  of 
the  single  individual;  two  achievements  which  should 
secure  for  him  a  permanent  and  honorable  place  among 
the  founders  of  linguistic  science. 

In  the  preface  to  his  Classification  der  Sprachen 
(1850) 2  Steinthal  refers  to  "that  most  important  dis- 
covery of  Humboldt's  genius,"  namely,  the  idea  of  an 
"  inner  speech-form, "  and  five  years  later  3  he  confesses 

quae  ille  {=  Humboldt)  inceperit  perficiamus,  quae  adumbraverit  uberius 
explicemus,  etc." 

1  Cf.  Scherer  (Zur  Gesch.d.  dent.  Sprache  [1868],  p.  156) :  "Daran  zwei- 
feln  wir  wohl  endlich  nicht  mehr,  Dank  vor  allem  den  Bestrebungen 
Steinthal's,  class  wir  es  zunachst  mit  psychologischen  Thatsachen  in  der 
Sprache  zu  thun  haben." 

2  Die  Classification  der  Sprachen  (1850),  p.  29  :  "...  so  haben  wir  die 
innere  Sprachform  in  Betracht  zu  ziehen.    Dieser  Begriff  ist  der  wichtigste 
in  der  Sprachwissenschaft  nnd  ist  ein  genialer  Fund   Humboldt's.     Er 
wird  auch  theoretisch  ausf  iihrlich  besprochen  §  1 1  [of  Tiber  die  Verschieden- 
heit  des  menschlichen  Sprachbaues,  etc.,  Ges.  Werke,  VI,  p.  92  ff.],  aber 
trotzdem  weder  in  sich  noch  im  Verhaltniss  zu  den  Formen  des  Denkens  in 
geniigeuder  Scharfe  bestimmt."     Very  similarly  as  to  the  lack  of  definite- 
ness,  Marty,  in  Symbolae  Pragenses  (1893),  p.  105,  "die  Erscheinungen, 
die  W.  v.  Humboldt  —  ebenfalls  ohne  sie  klar  und  consequent  in  ihrer 
wahren  Natur  zu  erfassen  —  die  '  innere  Sprachform '  genannt  hat." 

8  Steinthal,  Grammatik,  Logik  und  Psychologic,  (1855),  p.  xx.  "Die 
tiefste  Anreguug  erhielt  ich  durch  deu  Humboldtschen  Begriff  der  in- 
neren  Sprachform,  und  das  vorliegende  Buch  ist  nur  die  Erlauterung 
dieses  Begriffes.  Ich  sehe  immer  noch  Humboldt  als  den  Urheber  dessel- 
ben  an,  wiewohl  ich  einerseits  nicht  zurucknehmen  kann  was  ich  in  meiner 
Kritik  Humboldts  (vergl.  meine  Schrift :  Die  Classification  der  Spracheu) 
iiberzengend  bewiesen  zu  haben  glaube,  dass  er  namlich  in  keiner  Grund- 
frage  der  Sprachphilosophie  zu  einer  entschiedenen  Ansicht  und  einem 
klaren  Begriff  gelangt  ist,  und  andererseits  zugestanden  werden  muss, 
dass  nicht  bios  uberall  und  langst  die  innere  Sprachform  geahnt  worden 
ist,  sondern  dass  auch  innerhalb  der  historischen  Grammatik  selbst  die 
Bedeutungslehre  aufgetaucht  ist,  die  doch  wohl  nichts  Anderes  sein  wird, 
als  die  Darstellung  der  inneren  Sprachform." 

61 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

that  to  him  it  has  been  the  most  suggestive  of  Hum- 
boldt's  thoughts.  It  is  difficult  to  give  an  exact  defini- 
tion of  this  "inner  speech-form  "  as  Humboldt  conceived 
it.  There  is  an  almost  irresistible  temptation  to  bring 
greater  clearness  into  Humboldt's  somewhat  vague  and 
diffuse  treatment  of  the  important  subject  by  the  addi- 
tion of  ideas  and  the  use  of  terms  which  belong  to  our 
own  time,1  though  Humboldt  may  have  intuitively 
divined  some  of  them.  I  fear  that  I  have  not  been  able 
to  avoid  this  in  the  following  brief  exposition.2  Hum- 
boldt 3  distinguishes  in  the  first  place  between  "  speech 

1  So,  for  instance,  when  Wechssler  in  his  very  suggestive  paper  on 
"phonetic  law  "  (Romanische  Forschuiigen,  Festgabe  f.  H.  Suchier  [1900], 
p.  385)  speaks  of  Humboldt's  understanding  by  "  innere  Sprachform  "  "  den 
gesammten  Bestand  der  mit  den  akustisch-motorischen  Worten  uud  Wort- 
formen  assoziierten  Bedeutungen,"  he  uses  terms  which  presuppose  the 
psychological  investigations  of  Strieker  (1880)  and  his  successors. 

2  Scherer  (Zur  Gesch.  d.  deut.  Sprache  [1868],  p.  172)  defines:  "  W. 
v.  Humboldt's  '  innere  Form '  ist  nichts  anderes  als  der  Begriff  des  Stils, 
den  Winkelmann  so  machtig  in  den  Vordergrund  der  Geschichtsbetrach- 
tung  geschoben  hatte  —  angewandt  auf  die  Sprache.     Die  innere  Form 
ist  die  Eigenthumlichkeit  des  Gebrauchs." 

8  Humboldt,  Ges.  W.,  VI,  p.  40.  "  Man  muss  die  Sprache  nicht  sowohl 
wie  ein  todtes  Erzeugtes,  sondern  weit  mehr  wie  eine  Erzeugung  ansehen ; 
mehr  von  demjenigen  abstrahiren  was  sie  als  Bezeichnung  der  Gegen- 
stande  und  Vermittelung  des  Verstandnisses  wirkt,  und  dagegen  sorgfal- 
tiger  auf  ihren,  mit  der  inneren  Geistesthatigkeit  eng  verwebten  Ursprung 
und  ihren  gegenseitigen  Einfluss  darauf  zuriickgehen.  ...  (p.  41)  Die 
Sprache,  in  ihrem  wirklichen  Wesen  aufgefasst  ist  etwas  bestandig  und  in 
jedem  Augenblick  vorubergehendes.  Selbst  ihre  Erhaltung  durch  die 
Schrift  ist  immer  nur  eine  unvollstandige,  mumienartige  Aufbewahrung- 
...  (p.  42)  Sie  selbst  [=  die  Sprache]  ist  kein  Werk  (ergon),  sondern  eine 
Thatigkeit  (energeia).  Ihre  wahre  Definition  kann  daher  nur  eine  genetische 
aein.  Sie  ist  namlich  die  sich  ewig  wiederholende  Arbeit  des  Geistes,  den 
articulirten  Lant  zum  Ausdruck  des  Gedankens  fahig  zu  machen.  Un- 
mittelbar  und  streng  genommen,  ist  dies  die  Definition  des  jedesmaligen 
Sprechens ;  aber  im  wahren  und  wesentlichen  Sinne  kann  man  auch  nur 
gleichsam  die  Totalitat  dieses  Sprechens  als  die  Sprache  ansehen.  Denn 
in  dem  zerstreuten  Chaos  von  Wortern  und  Regeln,  welches  wir  wohl  eine 
Sprache  zu  nennen  pflegen,  ist  nur  das  durch  jenes  Sprechen  hervorge- 

62 


HISTORICAL   INTRODUCTION 

material"  and  "speech-form,"  or  between  the  raw 
material  which  is  not  yet  speech,  but  which  will  be 

brachte  Einzelne  vorhanden  und  dies  niemals  vollstandig,  auch  erst  einer 
neuen  Arbeit  bediirftig,  um  daraus  die  Art  des  lebendigen  Sprechens  zu 
erkennen  und  ein  wahres  Bild  der  lebendigen  Sprache  zu  geben.  Grade 
das  Hochste  und  Feinste  lasst  sich  an  jenen  getrennteu  Elementen  nicht 
erkennen,  und  kann  nur,  was  umsomehr  beweist,  dass  die  eigentliche 
Sprache  in  dem  Acte  ihres  wirklichen  Hervorbriugens  liegt,  in  der  verbun- 
denen  Kede  wahrgenomrnen  oder  geahudet  werden  .  .  .  Die  Sprachen  als 
eine  Arbeit  des  Geistes  zu  bezeichneu  ist  schon  darura  ein  vollkommen 
richtiger  und  adaquater  Ausdruck  weil  sich  das  Dasein  des  Geistes  iiber- 
haupt  nur  in  Thatigkeit  und  als  solche  denken  lasst.  ...  (p.  43)  Das  in 
dieser  Arbeit  des  Geistes,  den  articulirten  Laut  zum  Gedankenausdruck  zu 
erheben,  liegende  Bestandige  und  Gleichformige,  so  vollstandig  als  moglich 
in  seinem  Zusammenhaug  aufgefasst  und  systematise!!  dargestellt,  macht 
die  Form  der  Sprache  aus  ...  (p.  44)  .  . .  sie  [ist]  der  durchaus  individuelle 
Drang,  vermittelst  dessen  eine  Nation  dem  Gedanken  uiid  der  Empfin- 
dung  Geltung  in  der  Sprache  verschafft  ...  (p.  45)  Es  ergiebt  sich  schon 
aus  dem  bisher  Gesagten  von  selbst,  dass  unter  Form  der  Sprache  hier 
durchaus  uicht  bloss  die  sogenanute  grammatische  Form  verstandeu  wird. 
Der  Unterschied,  welchen  wir  zwischen  Grammatik  und  Lexicon  zu 
machen  pflegen,  kann  .  .  .  der  wahren  Sprachforschung  weder  Grauze  noch 
Eegel  vorschreiben  ...  (p.  46)  Der  Form  steht  .  .  .  ein  Stoff  gegeuiiber. 
.  .  .  Der  wirkliche  Stoff  der  Sprache  ist  auf  der  einen  Seite  der  Laut  iiber- 
haupt,  [but  note:  "  Absolut  betrachtet  kann  es  innerhalb  der  Sprache  kei- 
nen  ungeformten  Stoff  geben,  da  alles  in  ihr  auf  einen  bestimmten  Zweck, 
den  Gedankenausdruck,  gerichtet  ist,  und  diese  Arbeit  schon  bei  ihrem 
ersten  Element,  dem  articulirten  Laute,  beginnt  der  ja  eben  durch  Formung 
znm  articulirten  wird"],  auf  der  anderen  die  Gesammtheit  der  sinnlichen 
Eindriicke  und  selbstthatigen  Geistesbewegungen,  welche  der  Bildung  des 
Begriffs  mit  Hiilfe  der  Sprache  vorangehen.  ...  (p.  50).  Zwei  Principe 
treten  bei  dem  Nachdenken  iiber  die  Sprache  im  Allgemeinen  und  der 
Zergliedrung  der  einzelnen,  sich  deutlich  von  einander  absondernd,  an 
das  Licht :  die  Lautform,  und  der  von  ihr  zur  Bezeichung  der  Gegenstande 
uud  Verkniipfung  der  Gedanken  gemachte  Gebrauch.  .  .  .  Aus  diesen 
beiden  Principien  nun,  zusammengenommen  mit  der  Innigkeit  ihrer  gegen- 
seitigen  Durchdringung  geht  die  individuelle  Form  jeder  Sprache  hervor. 
...  (p.  51)  Die  Sprache  ist  das  bildende  Organ  des  Gedanken.  Die  intel- 
lectuelle  Thatigkeit,  durchaus  geistig,  durchaus  innerlich,  und  gewisser- 
massen  spurlos  voriibergehend,  wird  durch  den  Laut  in  der  Kede  ausserlich 
und  wahrnehmbar  fur  die  Sinne.  Sie  und  die  Sprache  sind  daher  Bins 
und  unzertrennlich  von  einander.  Sie  ist  aber  auch  in  sich  an  die  Noth- 

63 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

shaped  (articulated,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  term)  into 
speech.  This  material  is  twofold,  "innerlich"  and 
"  ausserlich, "  that  is  (to  use  modern  terms),  psychical 
and  physical.  The  physical  speech  material  consists 
of  the  inarticulate  utterances,  mere  sounds,  i/ro<£ot, 
which  our  vocal  organs  are  capable  of  producing;  the 
psychical  speech  material  is  made  up  of  those  sensations 
and  cerebral  processes  which,  being  independent  of  all 
language,  belong  to  a  prelinguistic  period.  In  speech  a 
definite  form  is  given  to  both  physical  and  psychical 
material.  The  inarticulate  sound,  for  the  purpose  of 
expressing  thought,  receives  a  definite  form,  it  becomes 
articulate,  the  i/ro'<£o5  changes  to  (fxavij.  This  is  the 
"  outer  speech  form,"  the  external,  phonetic  aspect  of  the 
speech  symbols.  The  "inner  speech  form"  is  the  defi- 

wendigkeit  gekniipft,  eine  Verbindung  mit  dem  Sprachlaute  einzugeheu  ; 
das  Denken  kann  sonst  nicht  zur  Deutlichkeit  gelangen ;  die  Vorstellung 
nicht  zum  Begriff  werden  ...  (p.  52)  Sowohl  die  Dinge  in  der  ausseren 
Natnr,  als  die  innerlich  angeregte  Thatigkeit  dringeu  auf  den  Menschen 
mit  eine  Menge  von  Merkmalen  zugleich  ein.  Er  aber  strebt  nach  Ver- 
gleichung,  Trennung  and  Verbindung,  und  in  seinen  hoheren  Zwecken 
nach  Bildung  immer  mehr  umschliessender  Einheit.  Er  verlangt  also 
auch,  die  Gegenstande  in  bestimmter  Einheit  aufzufassen  und  fordert  die 
Einheit  des  Lautes,  um  ihre  Stelle  zu  vertreten.  Dieser  verdrangt  aber 
keiuen  der  auderen  Eindriicke,  welche  die  Gegenstaude  auf  den  ausseren 
oder  inneren  Sinn  hervorzubringen  fahig  sind,  sondern  wird  ihr  Trager 
und  fiigt  in  seiner  individuellen,  mit  der  des  Gegeustandes,  und  zwar 
gerade  nach  der  Art,  wie  ihn  die  individuelle  Empfindungsweise  des 
Sprechendeu  auffasst,  zusammenhangenden  Beschaffeuheit  einen  ueuen 
bezeichnenden  Eindruck  hinzu.  ...  (p.  53)  Keine  Gattung  der  Vorstel- 
lungen  kann  als  ein  bloss  empfangendes  Beschauen  eines  schon  vorhande- 
nen  Gegenstandes  betrachtet  werden.  Die  Thatigkeit  der  Sinne  muss  sich 
mit  der  inneren  Handlung  des  Geistes  synthetisch  verbinden  und  aus  dieser 
Verbindung  reisst  sich  die  Vorstellung  los,  wird  der  subjectiven  Kraft 
gegeniiber,  zum  Object,  nnd  kehrt,  als  solches  auf  [sic]  neue  wahrgenom- 
men,  in  jene  zuriick.  Hierzu  aber  ist  die  Sprache  unentbehrlich.  Denn 
indem  in  ihr  das  geistige  Streben  sich  Bahn  durch  die  Lippen  bricht,  kehrt 
das  Erzeugniss  desselben  zum  eignen  Ohre  zuriick.  Die  Vorstellung 
wird  also  in  wirkliche  Objectivitat  hiniiberversetzt.  . .  ." 

64 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

nite  arrangement  of  the  prelinguistic  psychical  material 
into  definite  groups,  the  coherence  of  each  group  being 
secured  by  labelling  each  with  one  definite  sound-tag ; 
or  again  we  may  have  a  breaking  up  of  a  prelinguistic 
psychical  compound  into  component  elements,  in  which 
case  the  relative  independence  of  such  elements  is 
secured  by  providing  each  with  a  definite  symbol.  So 
by  the  word  "  apple  "  a  large  variety  of  visual,  tactile, 
olfactory,  and  gustatory  sensations  are  united  and 
stamped  as  a  unit,  while  in  the  word  "red  "  an  element 
of  the  compound  sensation  produced  by  some  object  of 
definite  color  and  size  and  shape  is  partially  analyzed, 
the  sensation  of  color  being  separated  from  the  rest  and 
endowed  with  a  lasting  independence  by  being  attached 
to  the  verbal  symbol  "red."  This  arrangement,  then, 
which  shows  itself  not  only  in  the  "  words  "  of  a  lan- 
guage, but  with  equal  clearness  in  its  grammatical 
structure,  to  be  lasting,  demands  the  assistance  of  a  set 
of  acoustic  symbols,  and  these  we  call  speech.  In  them 
this  psychical  activity  is  externally  reflected,  in  such  a 
way  as  to  become  manifest  to  the  senses,  and  through 
the  senses  to  the  mind  itself;  "no  kind  of  perception 
can  be  regarded  as  the  merely  receptive  contemplation  of 
an  existing  object.  The  activity  of  the  senses  must 
join  the  activity  of  the  mind,  and  from  this  synthetic 
union  the  percept  arises,  becomes  itself  an  object,  as 
contrasted  with  the  subjective  force  which  created  it, 
and,  perceived  by  the  senses,  returns  back  to  it.  For 
this  purpose  speech  is  indispensable.  For  when  the 
mental  activity  finds  its  outlet  through  the  lips,  its 
product  returns  through  the  ear.  .  .  ,M1  The  indi- 

1  Steinthal  expresses  the  same  thought  more  briefly :  "  Qnum  enim 
homines  loquuntur  aliquid  duplicis  et  contrariae  naturae  faciunt :  rem  in 

6  65 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

vidual  character  of  each  language  depends  upon  this 
"inner  speech-form,"  and  all  lexical  and  grammatical 
differences  of  languages  are  thus  seen  to  be  the  result 
and  outward  indication  of  the  psychical  difference  be- 
tween those  who  speak  them.  Humboldt's  discovery  of 
the  "inner  speech-form"  opens  up  the  whole  important 
problem  of  the  relation  of  speech  to  thought,  and  an 
investigation  of  this  problem  in  its  various  aspects  forms 
the  burden  of  most  of  Steinthal's  work.  "  It  is  neces- 
sary to  get  rid  of  the  false  opinion  (to  which  the  vague 
and  half-true  belief  that  language  is  an  organism  has 
sometimes  led)  which  regards  language  as  a  physiologi- 
cal movement  of  the  body  like  breathing,  trembling, 
twitching.  On  the  contrary,  language  is  a  psychical 
activity,  and  the  belief  just  mentioned  is  true  only  in  so 
far  as  the  element  of  purpose  must  not  enter  into  our 
explanation."  And  again:  "  For  the  grammarian  words 
are  not  independent  beings  whose  deeds  and  sufferings 
he  has  to  register  and  to  classify,  but  they  are  [signs  of] 
psychical  processes,  the  course,  conditions,  and  results 
of  which  he  must  investigate."1  As  a  psychologist, 

aliquid  cogitatum  mutant  et  cogitata  ita  reprimunt  quae  sub  sensura 
cadant."  (De  Pronomine  Relative  [1847],  p.  2.) 

1  Steinthal,  (Assimilation  und  Attraction)  Zt.  f.  "Volkerpsych.  und 
Sprachwissenschaft,  I  (1860),  p.  101.  "  Wenn  es  der  Erklarung  der  Attrac- 
tion nachtheilig  war  vorzugsweise  oder  ausschliesslich  ihren  rhetorischen 
Zweck  und  die  bewusste  Absicht  des  Schriftstellers  zu  beriicksichtigen,  so 
behielt  man  andererseits  mit  dem  Worte  Attraction  auch  noch  einen 
anderen  Fehler  aus  alter  Zeit  bei,  der  einen  ganz  entgegengesetzten 
Character  hat.  Auf  der  einen  Seite  liess  man  den  Schriftsteller  mit 
Worten  und  Formen  frei  schalten  und  walten,  dieselben  stellen  und 
schieben  und  verschieben,  wie  Figuren  auf  dem  Schachbrett ;  auf  der 
anderen  Seite  aber  schrieb  man  den  Worten  Krafte  und  Thatiykeiten  zu, 
und  wie  man  sagte,  dass  ein  Wort  das  andere  regiere,  so  legte  man  ihm 
nun  auch  eine  gewisse  Attractionskraft  bei,  mit  welcher  es,  wie  vermoge 
eines  gewissen  Magnetismns  ein  anderes  Wort  anzieht,  vor  und  riickwarts 
greifend.  Das  ist  nun  aber  eine  ganz  haltlose  und  fur  die  wahre  Auffas- 

66 


HISTORIC  A  L  INTR  OD  UCTION 

Steinthal  belongs  to  the  school  of  Herbart,1  who,  in  his 
Lehrbuch  der  Psychologic  (1816)  and  the  larger  Psy- 
chologic als  Wissenschaft  (1824-25),  had  begun  to  base 
psychology  upon  experience,  and  "  by  his  substitution  of 
single  elements  (sensations  and  ideas)  as  the  foundation 
of  psychical  phenomena  in  place  of  the  psychical  facul- 
ties still  retained  by  Kant,  by  his  demand  that  psychical 
phenomena  should  be  explained  according  to  the  definite 
laws  of  their  reciprocal  action  "  (corresponding  to  the 
association  theory  of  the  English  psychologists),  was 
then  the  most  prominent  representative  of  empirical 
psychology.  That  Steinthal  was  in  no  way  slavishly 
dependent  upon  Herbart  may  be  easily  gathered  from 
Misteli's2  comparison  of  Herbart's  and  Steinthal's 
views  on  language. 

35  While  Steinthal  may  be  regarded  as  a  psychologist 
who  turned  linguist,  the  development  of  linguistic 
studies  at  this  very  time  was  forcing  philologists  to  turn 

sung  der  Sache  verderbliche  Fiction ;  man  hat,  um  eine  wahrgenommene 
P^rscheinnng  zu  erklaren,  eine  Kraft  erdichtet,  welche  dieselbe  machen 
sollte.  Solche  mythische  Krafte  uberall  aufzulosen,  ist  nun  Aufgabe 
der  Wissenschaft.  Attraction  ist  nicht  eine  Handlung  welche  das  Wort 
iibt,  nnd  von  ihr  zu  reden  ist  iiberhaupt  nur  etwa  in  derselben  Weise 
erlaubt,  wie  man  vom  Auf-  und  Untergang  der  Sonne  spricht  .  .  .  Fiir 
die  Grammatik  sind  die  Worte  keine  selbststandigen  Wesen,  deren  Thaten 
und  Leiden  sie  zu  registriren  und  zn  schematisiren  hatte,  sondern  ea 
sind  psychische  Processe,  nach  ihren  Bedingungen  und  Erfolgen  und 
ihrem  ganzen  Verlaufe  zu  beobachten." 

1  Cf.  H.  Hoffding's  History  of  Modern  Philosophy  (English  transl.  by 
Meyer,  1900),  II,  p.  255. 

2  "  Herbart's  Sprachauffassung  in  Zusammenhange  seines  Systems  "  in 
Zt.  f.  Volkerpsych.    u.    Sprachwiss.,    XII    (1880),    p.    407-150.  —  The 
influence  of  Herbart  on  Paul  is  very  noticeable,  especially  in  the  Intro- 
duction and    first  chapter  of    his   Principien.     Cf.   Wundt,   Philosoph. 
Studien,  IV,  p.  1  ff.     [The  theory  of  unconscious  psychical  processes  is 
now  modified  by  Paul,  who  substitutes  in  the  third  edition  (e.  g.  p.  23, 
§  12)  "ohne  klares  Bewusstein"  for  "unbewusst"  of  the  second  edition  ; 
cf.  Wundt,  Physiol.  Psychol.,  II,  p.  263 ;  Jodl,  Lehrb.  d.  Psychol.,  p.  462.] 

67 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

toward  psychology.  Two  things  especially  have  con- 
tributed to  the  production  of  this  effect:  first,  the 
employment  of  analogy  as  a  methodological  principle, 
and,  second,  the  first  beginnings  of  what  we  now  term 
semantics. 

In  1867  Whitney,  in  his  Language  and  the  Study  of 
Language,1  which  is  an  expansion  of  a  course  of  lectures 
delivered  during  the  month  of  March,  1864,  at  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  in  Washington,  and  again  be- 
fore the  Lowell  Institute  in  Boston,  called  attention  to 
the  "  tendency  toward  extension  of  prevailing  analogies 
beyond  their  historically  correct  limits  "  as  an  important 
factor  in  linguistic  changes,  illustrating  it  among  other 
things  by  the  extension  of  the  genitival  -s  in  Modern 
English  and  by  the  transition  of  "  irregular "  (strong) 
verbs  into  the  "  regular  "  (weak)  conjugation,  "  the  same 
tendency  which  shows  itself  so  noticeably  now  in  every 
child  who  learns  the  English  language,  inclining  him 
to  say  I  bring ed,  I  goed,  1  seed,"  "or  else,  perhaps, 
remembering  1  sang  from  I  sing,  it  says  1  brang." 

About  the  same  time  Scherer,2  in  Germany,  frequently 

1  P.  27,  82,  and  85.  —  Cf.  Misteli,  Zt.  f .  Volkerpsych.  und  Sprachwiss., 
XI  (1880),  p.  367. 

2  Scherer,  Zur  Geschichte  der  Deutschen  Sprache  (1868).     See  Index, 
p.  480,  s.  v.   "  Formiibertragung."    And  compare  the  following  passages : 
p.  177.     (A  propos  of  the  extension  of  the  jui-conjugation :)    "  Es  ware 
sehr  verdienstlich,  wenn  jemand  solches  Aufdrangen,  solche  Formiiber- 
tragung  oder  Wirkung  der  '  falschen  Analogic '  einmal  im  allgemeinsten 
Zusammenhange  erorterte   und   namentlich   die   Einschrankungen   fest- 
zustellen  suchte,  innerhalb  deren  dieser  Vorgang  sich  halten  muss  .  .  ."  To 
which  is  added,  p.  473  (in  the  Nachtrage) :  "  Als  eine  Regel,  die  fiir  viele 
Falle  ausreicht  lasst  sich  vorlaufig  hinstellen  :  Weim  eine  Form  a  es  iiber 
eine  Form  6  davontragt  and  sie  verdrangt,  so  haben  a  und  b  ein  Element  a 
gemeinsam,  das  sie  von  ahnlichen  und  zunachst  verwandten   Formen 
unterscheidet ;  die  thatsachliche  Ubermacht  von  a  aber  beruht  auf  der 
Haufigkeit  des  Gebrauches.     Man  kann  um  es  genau  zu  nehmen,  Flex- 
ionsiibertiagung,  Suffixiibertragung  (unter  diese  Rubrik   gehoren  die 

68 


HISTORICAL   INTRODUCTION 

employed  the  same  principle ;  in  his  Zur  Geschichte  der 
deutschen  Sprache  (1868)  his  appreciation  of  its  great 
importance  makes  him  wish  for  a  comprehensive  study 
of  the  analogical  interference  of  one  form  with  another, 
in  order  to  determine  the  limitations  within  which  anal- 
ogy operates,  and  in  a  supplementary  note  he  ventures 
a  psychological  explanation  of  the  analogical  process: 
"If  a  form  A  is  victorious  over  another  form,  B,  and 
crowds  it  out,  then  A  and  B  must  have  a  common  ele- 
ment, a,  which  distinguishes  them  from  other  related 
forms  [in  modern  terms :  Analogy  presupposes  associa- 
tion]. But  the  fact  that  it  is  A  which  proves  victorious 
is  due  to  its  greater  frequency  of  use." 

When,  under  the  leadership  of  Leskien,1  the  neo- 
grammarians  took  the  last,  decisive  step2  and  forbade 
all  and  every  exception  to  phonetic  law,  the  necessary 
corollary  to  the  belief  in  "  mechanical  sound  laws  "  which 
operated  without  exceptions  was  the  assumption  of  the 

meisten  der  beliebten  Identificirungen  lautgesetzlich  nnvereinbarer 
Suffixe),  Stammiibertragung  und  Stammumbildung  unterscheiden." 
(P.  392)  "  Eine  vollstandige  Geschichte  der  Formiibertragungen  und 
Entstellungen  in  der  Pronominalflexion  selbst  und  in  ihrem  Verhaltniss 
zur  Substantivflexion  ware  von  grossem  Interesse."  Cf.  also  Scherer, 
Die  Deutsche  Sprache  (1860),  p.  60. 

1  Die   Declination  ira   Slavisch-Litauischen  und   Germanischen   (vol. 
XIX  of  the  Preisschriften  der  Fiirstlich  Jablonowskischen  Gesellschaft, 
1876),  p.  xxviii. — The  literature  of  the  early  neogrammarian  metho- 
dology is  given   in  the  note   on   p.   xiii.   of  Osthoff  and  Brugmann's 
Morphologische  Untersuch.,  I  (1878). 

2  Scherer,  whose  strict  regard   for  phonetic   laws  appears  from  the 
passages  collected  by  Johannes  Schmidt   (Kuhn's  Zt.  XXVIII  [1887], 
p.  303,  and  XXXII  [1893],  p.  419),  seems  to  have  permitted  exceptions 
only  "  in  case  of  the  most  pressing  need."    Arguing  against  Curtius'  con- 
nection of  Ttorl  and  irporl,  he  says  (Zur  Gesch.  d.  deut.  Sprache  [1868], 
p.  306  note)  :  "  Ohne  die  dringendste  Noth  wollen  wir  die  Lautgesetze 
doch  nicht  ausser  Acht  lassen.     Diese  Noth  trate  ein,  wenn  sich  fiir  eine 
unregelmassige  Nebenform  absolut  keine  selbstandige  Ankniipf  ung  fande." 

69 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

psychological  origin  of  many  phonetic  developments.1 
A  form  like  the  plural  ending  -/*e#a 2  could  no  longer 
be  derived,  by  the  assumption  of  sporadic  "  attenuation  " 
of  <rd  to  #,  from  -/4ecr0a,  but  the  latter  form,  it  was  now 
psychologically  explained,  owed  its  <r  to  the  endings 
-o-0a,  -o-0e,  -o-0oi>,  etc.,  with  which  it  had  been  analogi- 
cally connected.  Although  there  are  psychological 
processes  producing  sound  change  which  do  not  fall 
under  the  head  of  analogy,  yet  those  which  do  are 
numerous  enough  to  make  the  introduction  of  analogy 
as  a  methodological  principle  an  important  step  in  the 
psychological  interpretation  of  linguistic  facts. 

A  peculiar  one-sidedness  of  the  neo-grammarian 
movement  must  be  noted  here.  It  is  the  quiet  ac- 
ceptance of  all  regular  development,  e.  #.,  of  a  sound 
change  regularly  exhibited  by  a  large  mass  of  words, 
without  inquiry  into  its  cause,  when  at  the  same  time  a 
causal  explanation  for  any  irregularity  was  demanded. 
The  Attic  change  of  an  (Ionic)  rj  to  a  after  p,  i,  e,  v  was 
accepted  without  further  explanation  because  the  change 
is  universal;  but  the  77  in  ^0/377709  required  causal  ex- 
planation (due  to  analogy  of  crrparr}^}.  In  the  dis- 
cussion which  centred  around  the  term  "phonetic  law" 
this  discrimination  in  favor  of  majority  changes,  and 
their  acceptance  without  genetic  explanation,  and 
against  minority  changes  for  which  such  explanation  was 
demanded,  has  tended  to  obscure  the  true  issue  and  re- 
tarded a  settlement,  as  will  appear  hereafter.3 
36  The  study  of  semantics,  to  which  reference  was  made 

1  Osthoff    and    Brugmann    distinctly    say    (Morph.    Untersuch.,  I, 
p.  xiii):  "  Aller  lautwandel,  soweit  er  mechanisch  vor  sick  gehl.,  vollzieht 
sich  nach  ausnahmslosen  gesetzen." 

2  Brugmann,  Morph.  Untersuch.,  I,  p.  156,  note. 
8  Cf .  below,  Lecture  IV. 

70 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

above,  has  its  beginnings  in  lexicography.  In  his  Lec- 
tures on  the  Latin  Language  (delivered  for  the  last  time 
during  the  winter  term  of  1826-27,  and  published  mu6h 
later,  in  1839,  by  his  pupil  Haase)  K.  Reisig  had  called 
attention  to  the  importance  of  a  scientific  and  systematic 
study  of  the  meanings  of  words  and  devoted  about  a 
dozen  pages l  to  a  few  suggestions  concerning  "  the  prin- 
ciples of  semantic  development,"  in  which  he  states, 
among  other  things,  that  "the  basis  of  the  semantic  de- 
velopment of  words  is  the  association  of  related  ideas." 
His  premature  death,  perhaps,  prevented  Reisig  from 
penetrating  farther  into  the  subject  which  he  had  thus 
opened.2  It  was  reserved  for  his  pupil,  Agathon 

1  K.  Reisig's  Vorlesungen  iiber  lateinische  Sprachwissenschaft  (1839), 
p.  18,  §  20.     "Das  Wort  betrachten  wir  in  seiner  Gestalt  nach  gewissen 
Grundsatzen,   und    daraus  entsteht     1)    die    Etymologic,   Formenlehre  > 
demnach  seine   Verbindungen  mit  anderen   Wortern,  und    dies   bildet 
2)  die  Syntax.    Das  Wort  hat  aber  noch  eine  andere  Eigenschaft  an 
sich,  die  Bedeutung ;  es  giebt  eine  Gattung  von  Wortern,  die  in  jeder  Art 
der  Rede  in  Anspruch  genommen  werden,  deren  Bedeutung  aber  weder 
in  der  Etymologie  erortert  werden  kann,  noch  auch  in  der  Syntax  Plata 
findet,  weil  ihre  Bedeutung  weder  von  etymologischen  noch  von  syntak- 
tischen  Regeln  abhangig  ist.     Lassen  sich  nun  gewisse  Grundsatze  auf- 
stellen,  welche  von  einer  Menge  von  Wortern   die  Entwickelung  ihrer 
Bedeutung  und  ihrer  Anwendung  zeigen,  so  entsteht  noch  ein  integriren- 
der  Theil  der  Grammatik  namlich  3)  die  Bedeutungslehre,  Semasiologie." 

P.  286-307  are  devoted  to  Semasiology  :  286-298  "  Grundsatze  fiir  die 
Entwickelung  der  Bedeutung"  and  298-307  "  Grundsatze  iiber  die  Wahl 
der  WSrter  nach  ihrer  Bedeutung."  (This  second  half  is  purely 
stylistic.)  P.  286,  §  171  "  Die  Entfaltung  der  Gedankenreihe  in  Betreff 
der  Bedeutung  der  Worter  ist  ein  anziehendes,  anmuthiges  Geschaft  .  .  . 
Die  Grundlagen  der  Ideenentwickelung  in  den  Wortern  ist  die  Gedanken- 
association  in  der  Gemeinschaft  der  Vorstellungen." 

2  The  following  passage  from  W.  v.  Schlegel,  Reflexions,  etc.  (1832)> 
p.  42,  is  worth   quoting :   Les  articles  concernant  les  termes  polystman- 
tiques  sont  particulierement  peu  satisfaisans :  la  re'daction  de  ces  sortes 
d'articles  est  pourtant  la  pierre  de  touche  d'un  bon  dictionnaire.    II 
fant  d'abord  chercher  la  signification  primitive  ou  fondamentale  du  mot, 
a  laquelle  toutes  les  autres  doivent  etre  rameuees  comme  a  leur  centre 

71 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

Benary  (1834),  to  leave  the  purely  lexicographical 
aspect  of  the  semantic  question  and  to  give  to  it  a  much 
wider  and  at  the  same  time  profounder  meaning.  He 
was  the  first  to  distinguish  clearly  between  the  formal 
and  the  semantic  side  of  a  word,  and  this  not  only  with 
reference  to  the  word  as  a  whole,  but  he  applied  this 
same  distinction  to  the  grammatical  elements  of  which 
the  word  is  made  up,  such  as  inflectional  and  formative 
affixes.  These  also,  he  points  out,  deserve  a  separate 
treatment  from  the  point  of  view  of  their  meaning, 
which  should  be  fuller  and  more  systematic  than  that 
which  is  now  very  grudgingly  permitted  them,  tucked 
away  in  some  syntactical  paragraph  where  it  is  wholly 
out  of  place.1 

commnn ;  il  faut  observer  raffinite"  des  idees  et  retracer  le  passage 
graduel  et  nuance  de  1'une  a  1'autre ;  il  faut  expliquer  les  transitions 
brusques  et  inattendues :  ce  sont  pour  la  plupart  des  expressions  origi- 
nairement  figurees  et  devenues  peu  a  peu  des  mots  propres,  lorsque  la 
metaphore  ou  Pallusion  qui  leur  avait  donne'  naissance  a  ete'  obliteree  par 
le  temps.  Quelquefois  une  seule  se'rie  ne  suffit  pas:  il  faut  revenir 
plusieurs  fois  a  la  tige  commune,  pour  suivre  les  ramifications  divergentes. 
1  Benary  in  Jahrbiicher  f.  wissenschaftliche  Kritik,  Juli  1834,  col.  66  ff.  : 
"  Das  Wort  erscheint  in  der  Sprache  als  Ausdruck  des  Gedankens 
und  wie  sein  Ursprung  rein  der  Form  nach  in  der  Laut-  und  Sylbeulehre 
gezeigt  wird,  so  wird  seine  Genesis  als  Bedeutungstrager  in  der  Bedeu- 
tungslehre  und  endlich  sein  Begriff  als  Darstellung  des  vollstandigen 
Gedankens  in  der  Syntax  dargethan.  So  zerfallt  uns  die  ganze  Gram- 
matik  in  drei  Theile. 

I.  Das  Wort  als  Form : 

(a)  die  Elementarlehre  (Laut  —  Sylbe  —  Wort). 

(b)  die  Flexionslehre. 

(c)  die  Ableitungs- und  Composition slehre,  sammtlich  nurformell, 

die  Lantveranderungen  und  Erweiterungen,  abgesehen  von 
ihrer  Geltung  und  ihrem  Werthe  als  Begriffstrager. 

II.  Die  Bedeutungslehre : 

(a)  Die    Wurzel    als    allgemeines,    nnentwickeltes,    in    ihrer 

Bewegung  in  sich  (die  verschiedenen  Bedeutungen  der 

Wurzel)  und  in  ihrem  Fortgangzura  System  des  Wortes: 

1.  Das  Begriffswort  (als  Adjectivum,  Substantivum,  Verbum). 

72 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

Here,  then,  is  the  germ  of  a  healthy  reaction  against 
the  one-sided  formal  treatment  of  Bopp  and  his  follow- 
ers. Its  growth  has  been  slow,  and  only  during  the  last 
decades  has  this  side  of  the  question  begun  to  receive 
adequate  treatment.1  But  wherever  these  problems 
were  touched  at  all  they  demanded  a  psychological 
solution. 
37  The  same  is  finally  true  of  syntax  when  freed  from  the 

2.  Das  Formwort  (als  Pronomen,  Zahlwort,  Partikel). 

(b)  Die  grammatische  Form  : 

1.  Die  Verhaltnisse  der  Dinge  zu  einander  (Genus,  Casus, 

Numerus). 

2.  Die  Verhaltnisse  der  Eigenschaften  (die  Gradation). 

3.  Die  Verhaltnisse  der  Handlung  (die  Zeit,  die  Modi,  die 

Genera). 

(c)  die  Ableituug  und  Composition. 
III.   Das  Wort  als  Gedanke  (Syntaxis). 

(a)  der  einfache  Satz  —  Taxis. 

(b)  der  Nebensatz  —  Parataxis. 

(c)  die  Periode  —  Syntaxis. 

Von  den  gewohnlichen  besseren  Eintheilungen  .  .  .  weichen  wir  also 
darin  ab,  dass  wir  einen  zweiteu  Theil  der  Gesammtgrammatik  in  der 
Bedeutungslehre  vindiciren.  Dies  hat  einst  mein  unvergesslicher  Lehrer 
Keisig  in  seinen  Vorlesungen  iiber  lateinische  Sprachwissenschaft  gethan, 
doch  nur  ahueiid ;  denn  dass  er  nur  den  ganz  ausserlichen  Theil  der 
Synonymik  (diese  fallt  ihrer  grammatischen,  nicht  lexicalischen  Seite 
nach  bei  uns  in  den  Fortgang  der  Wurzel  zum  System  des  Wortes)  und 
einige  ganz  specielle  Falle  in  diesen  Theil  zog,  ohne  wie  wir  das  ganze 
grammatische  Feld  in  ihr  Gebiet  in  vollstandiger  verniinftiger  Gliederung 
aufzunehmen,  das  wissen  mit  mir  seine  ehemaligen  zahlreichen  Zuhorer; 
den  Mangel  fiihlte  er,  auszufiillen  war  ihm  —  der  gerade  in  der  regsten 
Zeit  der  Entwicklung  der  Sprachwissenschaft  starb  —  uicht  vergonnt.  Die 
Wichtigkeit  dieses  Theiles  macht  sich  aber  vor  allem  bei  Behandlung 
der  Syntax  kund.  Hier  werden  gewohnlich  die  Formen,  mit  Vorausse- 
tzung  der  Kenntniss  ihrer  Bedeutung,  ohne  weiteres  aufgenommen,  oder 
diese  nachtraglich  an  Orten  abgehandelt  wo  sie  ihrer  Natur  nach  fremd 
und  storend  sind,  wie  etwa  die  Bedeutung  des  Conjunctivs  bei  der  Lehre 
von  den  hypothetischen  Satzen,  etc."  This  extract  will  show  how  deeply 
Benary  had  penetrated  into  these  problems.  The  last  clauses  sound  like 
an  anticipation  of  some  parts  of  Ries'  Was  ist  Syntax"?  (1894). 

1  Cf.  Paul,  Sitz.  Ber.  d.  bayer.  Akad.  (1894),  p.  88;  (1897),  p.  692. 

73 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

tutelage  of  logic.  Syntax  has  been  the  last  of  all  de- 
partments of  grammar  to  receive  psychological  treat- 
ment; in  fact,  while  since  Humboldt's  time  sporadic 
attempts  to  treat  syntactical  problems  psychologically 
have  not  been  wholly  wanting,  it  is  only  now  beginning 
to  receive  it  at  the  hand  of  the  professed  syntacticians. 
Being  first,  in  the  time  of  Bopp,  unduly  neglected, 
historical  syntax,  which  was  inaugurated  by  Lange 
(1852), l  and  comparative  syntax,  begun  by  Delbriick 
and  Windisch  (1871), 2  have  claimed  the  attention  of 
scholars ;  and  even  Paul,  who  perhaps  more  than  any  one 
else  has  been  instrumental  in  gaining  recognition  for  the 
psychological  method  3  among  philologists,  had  no  chap- 
ter on  syntax  in  the  first  edition  (1880)  of  his  Principien, 
a  lacuna  filled  in  the  second  edition  (1886)  by  two  im- 
portant chapters,  while  Ziemer4had  meanwhile  (1882) 

1  In  the  very  important  address  before  the  meeting  of  German  philo- 
logists at  Gottingen  in  1852  (Verhandl.  der  XIII.     Versammluug  deut. 
Philol.  etc.  [1853],  p.  96=  Kleine  Schriften,  I,  p.  39.) 

2  Syntaktische  Forschungen  (1871-88)  in  five  volumes,  forerunners,  as 
it  were,  to  Delbriick's  Vergleichende  Syntax  (1893  ff.). 

8  The  third  [improved]  edition  of  Paul's  Principien  appeared  in  1898  ; 
an  English  translation  was  made  by  H.  A.  Strong  from  the  second  German 
edition  in  1889.  This  is  out  of  print.  It  contains  a  preface  by  B.  I. 
Wheeler.  The  "  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  History  of  Language  by 
H.  A.  Strong,  W.  S.  Logeman,  and  B.  I.  Wheeler"  (1891)  is,  according 
to  the  preface,  "an  attempt  ...  to  enable  students  to  grasp  the  main 
points  of  the  contents  of  one  of  the  most  important  philological  works 
which  have  been  published  during  the  last  ten  or  twenty  years.  Paul's 
Principien  der  Sprachgeschichte.  —  Wundt's  Volker psychologic :  Die 
Sprache  (1900),  in  two  volumes,  is  now  the  most  important  contribution 
to  the  psychological  study  of  language.  Cf.  also  Wegener's  Untersuch- 
ungen  liber  die  Grundfragen  des  Sprachlebens  (1885,  an  elaboration  of 
two  lectures  delivered  in  1883  and  1884  respectively) ;  and  Reichel's 
Sprachpsychologische  Studien,  1897.  (1.  Die  deutsche  Wortstellung  in 
der  Gegenwart.  2.  Die  deutsche  Betonung  in  der  Gegenwart.  3.  Spar- 
samkeit.  4.  Begriindung  der  Normalsprache.) 

*  Junggrammatische  Streifziige  im  Gebiete  der  Syntax  (1882),  an  en- 
largement of  his  '  Programm'  (Colberg,  1879). 

74 


made  the  psychological  element  in  the  formation  of  syn- 
tactical constructions  the  topic  of  a  short  monograph. 
To  any  one  looking  over  the  syntactical  literature  since 
then,  it  will  become  at  once  apparent  what  an  important 
and  even  dominating  part  the  psychological  method  is 
destined  to  play  in  further  syntactical  investigations.1 
38  Aside  from  the  psychological  aspect  of  linguistic  phe- 
nomena the  chief  importance  of  the  essay  with  which 
Steinthal  and  Lazarus  opened  their  Zeitschrift  fur 
Volkerpsychologie  und  Sprachwissenschaft  (1860)  lies 
in  recognizing  the  fact  that  the  psychical  phenomena 
which  manifest  themselves  in  speech  are  not  wholly 
identical  with  those  exhibited  by  the  single  individual, 
and  in  grouping  them  together  with  the  other  similar 
psychical  phenomena,  namely,  those  of  belief  and  custom. 
True,  there  are  earlier  passages  which  lay  stress  on  the 
social  character  of  speech,  as  when  Humboldt 2  said,  in 
1821,  that  "  speech  is  not  a  free  product  of  the  individ- 
ual, but  always  belongs  to  the  nation  as  a  whole,"  and 
elsewhere  speaks  of  "the  weakness  of  the  individual 
against  the  power  of  language ; "  3  moreover  the  ground 
for  such  views  had  been  prepared  by  the  collectivism  of 
the  Romanticists  to  which  allusion  has  been  made  above 
(p.  56).  But  a  definite  statement  we  first  find  in  Stein- 
thai  4  (1855) :  "  In  our  discussion  of  speech  and  grammar 
...  we  have  never  left  the  domain  of  psychology. 

1  Cf.  e.  g.  Brugmann,  Griech.  Gramm.8  1900,  p.  364,  note  1. 

2  Ges.  Werke,  III,  p.  260. 

8  Ges.  Werke,  VI,  p.  65 :  "  Wenn  man  bedenkt,  wie  anf  die  jedesmalige 
Generation  in  einem  Volke  alles  dasjenige  bindend  einwirkt,  was  die 
Sprache  desselben  alle  vorigen  Jabrbunderte  hindurch  erfahren  hat,  und 
wie  damit  nur  die  Kraft  der  einzeluen  Generation  in  Beriihrnng  tritt, 
und  diese  nicht  einmal  rein  ...  so  wird  klar  wie  gering  eigentlich  die 
Kraft  des  einzelnen  gegen  die  Macbt  der  Sprache  ist." 

*  Grammatik,  Logik  und  Psychologie  (1855),  p.  388. 

75 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

Nor  need  we  do  so  in  discussing  the  differences  of 
languages.  We  only  leave  one  department  of  it,  to 
which  to-day,  to  be  sure,  psychology  is  still  confined, 
and  pass  into  another,  which  belongs  no  less  to  psy- 
chology, although  it  has  until  now  only  been  touched 
very  casually.  For  the  psychology  of  to-day  is  individ- 
ual, i.  e.,  its  object  is  the  individual  soul  as  it  manifests 
itself  generally  in  every  being  which  possesses  a  soul,  in 
every  man,  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  also  in  the  animal. 
Now  it  is  the  important  fate  of  the  human  soul  not  to 
exist  as  an  independent  individual,  but  to  exist  in  a 
member  of  some  community,  who  from  the  very  begin- 
ning, both  in  body  and  soul,  forms  part  of  some  people 
(VolK).  And  for  this  reason  individual  psychology 
strongly  demands  a  supplement,  namely,  social  psychol- 
ogy (Volkerpzydiologie).^  By  birth  every  man  belongs 
to  some  society  which  materially  influences  his  psychical 
development.  So  that  the  individual  cannot  be  fully 
comprehended  without  reference  to  the  community 
within  which  he  was  born  and  lives."  This  supplement 
to  the  psychology  of  the  individual  (without  which  it 
must  remain  one-sided)  cannot,  however,  be  found  in 
simple  additions  dealing  with  the  relation  of  the  individ- 
ual to  the  community,  but  it  demands  that  the  commu- 
nity as  such  and  contrasted  with  the  individual  should  be 
made  the  subject  of  investigation.2  "For  within  the 

1  In  the  next  paragraph  he  points  out  that  it  is  hardly  possible  as 
yet  to  speak  of  "  social  psychology  "  as  a  new  science  on  account  of  the 
scantiness  of  material,  and  he  refers  to  a  few  stray  suggestions  in  Her- 
bart's  Pyschologie  (Introduction),  Carl  Hitter's  Erdkunde  (I,  p.  19),  and 
an  essay  by  Lazarus  in  the  Deutsches  Museum  for  1851. 

2  Zt.  f.  Volkerpsychol.  u.  Sprachw.,  I  (1860),  p.  5.     After  quoting  Her- 
bart  (Lehrb.  z.  Psychol.,2  §  240)  that  all  psychology  which  considers  man 
as  isolated  is  one-sided,  he  continues :     "  Die  Sache  ist  nun  aber  damit 
nicht  abgethan,  dass  man  diese  Einseitigkeit  hinterher  durch  gewisse 

76 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

community  there  arises  a  peculiar  set  of  psychical  phe- 
nomena, which  do  not  really  concern  man  as  an  individ- 
ual and  do  not  emanate  from  him  as  such.  We  deal 
here  not  so  much  with  conditions  in  man  as  with  condi- 
tions between  men ;  with  phenomena  in  which  he  is  not 
directly  but  indirectly  concerned,  because  he  is  a  part  of 
the  whole  which  experiences  them.  In  brief,  we  deal 
with  the  collective  soul  which  is  not  identical  with 
the  sum  total  of  all  the  individual  souls  that  make 
up  a  social  group."  It  must  be  stated  here,  once  for 
all,  that  neither  Lazarus  nor  Steinthal  has  for  a  moment 
assumed  that  there  existed  a  substantial  substratum  for 
their  social  psyche.  In  fact,  they  took  pains  to  forestall 
the  very  argument  which  Paul l  urges  against  them  along 
this  line:  "At  first  glance  the  use  of  the  term  psychol- 
ogy for  the  phenomena  of  the  life  of  a  social  body  .  .  . 
might  be  open  to  criticism  for  the  reason  that  we  cannot 
imagine  a  psyche  (in  the  proper  sense)  of  a  social  body, 
and  that,  for  this  reason,  the  substance  which  must  be 
assumed  as  the  substratum  of  the  psychical  activity 
appears  to  be  wanting.  But  on  closer  inspection  it 
will  readily  be  seen  that  a  knowledge  of  the  soul, 

Zusatze,  dnrch  eine  gewisse  Rucksicht  anf  die  Verhaltnisse  des  Menschen 
in  der  Gesellschaft,  zu  erganzen  sucht ;  sondern  diese  Erganzung  ist  iiber- 
haupt  nur  erst  dann  moglich,  wenn  zuvor  der  Mensch  als  gesellschaftliches 
Wesen,  d.  h.  wenn  die  menschliche  Gesellschaft,  also  ein  ganz  anderer 
Gegenstand  als  der  einzelne  Mensch,  zum  Gegenstande  einer  besonderen 
Untersnchung  gemacht  ist.  Denn  innerhalb  des  Menschen- Vereines  treten 
ganz  eigenthiimliche  psychologische  Verhaltnisse,  Ereignisse  und  Scho- 
pfungen  hervor,  welche  gar  nicht  den  Menschen  als  Einzelnen  betreffen, 
nicht  von  ihm  als  solchen  ausgehen.  Es  sind  nicht  mehr  sowohl  Verhalt- 
nisse in  Menschen,  als  zwischen  Menschen  ;  es  sind  Schicksale,  denen  er 
nicht  nnmittelbar  nnterliegt,  sondern  nur  mittelbar,  weil  er  zu  einem 
Ganzen  gehort,  welches  dieselben  erfahrt.  Knrz,  es  handelt  sich  nm  den 
Geist  einer  Gesammtheit,  der  noch  verschieden  ist  von  alien  zu  derselben 
gehorenden  einzelnen  Geistern  nnd  der  sie  alle  beherracht." 
1  Principien  (3d  ed.),  §  6,  especially  p.  11. 

77 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

namely,  of  its  substance  and  quality,  is  by  no  means  the 
aim  or  even  the  chief  task  of  psychology.  This  consists 
in  the  study  of  the  psychical  processes  and  of  their  de- 
velopment, i.  e.,  in  the  discovery  of  laws  according  to 
which  the  psychical  activity  of  man  .  .  .  takes  place."1 
And  they  proceed  then  to  divide  psychology  into  two 
parts,  namely,  "  Seelenlehre, "  which  has  to  do  with  the 
substance  and  quality  of  the  psyche,  and  "  Geisteslehre, " 

1  Zt.  f.  Volkerps.  and  Sprachw.,  I  (1860),  p.  27  f.  (under  the  caption : 
"Der  Volksgeist  keine  Substanz — ,  aber  ein  Subject").  "Zunachst 
konnte  die  Anwendung  des  Begriffes  der  Psychologie  auf  das  Volker- 
leben,  d.  h.  die  Griindung  einer  solchen  Wissenschaft,  Zweifel  gegen  sich 
dadurch  erregen,  dass,  well  eine  Psyche  des  Volkes  im  eigentlichen  Sinne 
des  Wortes  undenkbar  ist,  die  Substanz,  welche  als  Trager  der  Thiitigkeit 
gedacht  werden  muss,  zu  fehlen  scheint.  Fassen  wir  aber  die  Sache  naher 
ins  Auge,  so  leuchtet  bald  ein,  dass  die  Erkenntniss  der  Seele,  d.  h.  der 
Substanz  nnd  Qualitat  derselben,  keineswegs  das  Ziel  oder  auch  nur  das 
Wesentliche  der  Aufgabe  ist,  welche  die  Psychologie  zu  losen  hat. 
Vielmehr  besteht  diese  wesentlich  in  der  Darstellung  des  psychischen 
Processes  und  Progresses,  also  in  der  Entdeckung  der  Gesetze,  nach  denen 
jede  innere  Thiitigkeit  des  Menschen  .  .  .  vor  sich  geht,  uud  in  der  Auf- 
findung  der  Ursachen  und  Bedingungen  jedes  Fortschrittes  und  jeder 
Erhebung  in  dieser  Thatigkeit.  Wir  konnten  deshalb,  da  man  in  unserer 
Sprache  fast  allgemein  und  sicher  den  Unterschied  zwischen  Seele  und 
Geist  darin  begreift,  das  jene  eine  Substanz,  ein  reales  Etwas,  dieser  aber 
mehr  die  blosse  Thatigkeit  bedeutet  —  die  Psychologie  in  Seelenlehre  und 
Geisteslehre  unterscheiden,  so  dass  jene,  welche  mehr  das  Wesen  oder  die 
Substanz  und  Qnalitat  der  Seele  an  sich  betrachtet,  eigentlich  einen  Theil 
der  Metaphysik  oder  Naturphilosophie,  diese  aber  (die  Geisteslehre), 
welche  die  Thatigkeiten  der  Seele  und  deren  Gesetze  betrachtet,  die 
eigentliche  Psychologie  ausmacht.  Demgemass  ist  leicht  ersichtlich,  wie 
von  einer  Volkerpsychologie,  analog  der  individuellen  Psychologie,  die 
Rede  sein  kann :  namlich  als  Volksgeistlehre  in  dem  eben  bezeichneten 
engeren  Sinne."  Could  anything  be  plainer  ?  Similar  and  equally  defi- 
nite is  the  statement  in  Philologie,  Geschichte  und  Psychologie  (1864), 
p.  37,  "  Da  es  keine  substantielle  Volksseele  giebt,  sondern  der  Trager  des 
Volksgeistes  nur  die  zum  bestimmten  Volke  gehorigen  Individuen  sind, 
etc."  A  reference  to  Waitz  (Anthropologie,  I,  p.  388)  is  added :  "  Was  als 
die  Begabnng  and  Entwicklung  eines  Volkes  erscheint,  ist  der  Hauptsache 
nach  bedingt  von  der  Wechselwirkung  der  Individuen." 

78 


HISTORICAL   INTRODUCTION 

which  investigates  the  psychical  activity,  its  manifesta- 
tions and  their  laws.  To  the  former  they  assign  a  place 
in  metaphysics,  while  the  latter  comprises  the  "real" 
(or,  as  we  might  better  say,  "  empirical ")  psychology. 
Wundt 1  has  called  attention  to  this  advance  of  Lazarus 
and  Steinthal  beyond  their  teacher  Herbart,  and  pointed 
out  how  in  this  passage  they  have  practically  outlined 
the  position  of  modern  psychology,  which,  as  an  empir- 
ical 2  science,  has  to  do  with  psychical  states  and  pro- 
cesses alone,  while  questions  relating  to  a  soul-substance 
come  before  the  forum  of  metaphysics.  As  soon,  there- 
fore, as  we  confine  ourselves  to  empirical  psychology 
and  to  the  investigation  of  psychical  states  and  processes 
(which,  of  course,  never  occur  without  some  physical 
substratum),  the  question  is  not  whether  there  exists  a 
soul-substance  in  either  individual  or  social  body,  but 
the  vital  question  is  whether  there  are  certain  psychical 
phenomena  for  the  occurrence  of  which  the  association 

1  Ueber  Ziele  nnd  Wege  der  Volkerpsychologie  (Philosoph.  Studien,  IV, 
p.  1  ff.) ;  cf .  now  also  Volkerpsychologie  :  Die  Sprache,  I,  p.  17.    It  seems  to 
me  that  the  argumentation  of  Paul  in  the  introduction  of  his  Principien  is 
fully  met  by  Wundt's  exposition  in  the  two  papers  just  cited.     They  do 
not  only  discuss  and  rectify  some  important  points  in  Lazarus  and  Stein- 
thal's  program  (prefixed  to  the  first  volume  of  their  Zt.  f.  Volkerpsych.  u. 
Sprachwiss. ) ,  but  they  do  the  same  for  certain  parts  of  Paul's  Introduction, 
notably  regarding  his  transcendental  psychology  (§  4,  p.  6)  and  his  con- 
ception of  psychology  as  a  normative  science  (§  1,  pp.  2,  3)  which  makes  a 
"  Principienlehre "  necessary.     Wundt's  articles  furnish  altogether  the 
clearest  exposition  and  criticism  of  all  controversial  points  to  which  the 
assumption  of  a  "  Volkerpsychologie  "  may  give  rise. 

2  For  the  "  Actualitatsbegriff  der  Seele  "  in  empirical  psychology,  cf. 
e.  g.  A.  Hofler's  Psychologic  (1897),  §  1,  p.  1 :  "  Gegenstand  der  Psycholo- 
gie :    die  psychologischen  Erscheinungen.  .  .  .  Mit  den  Namen  '  Seele,' 
'  Psyche,'  verbindet  der  gegenwartige  Sprachgebrauch  bald  die  Bedeu- 
tung  eines  Inbfgriffs  psychischer  Erscheinuugen,  bald  die  eines  'Tragers' 
psychischer  Erscheinungen.    Letzterer  Begriff,  der  der  '  Seelen-Substanz,' 
gehort  der  metaphysischen  Psychologic  an." 

79 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

of  a  number  of  individuals  is  essential,  and  which  must 
be  contrasted,  therefore,  with  those  psychological  phe- 
nomena for  which  this  is  not  the  case.  It  is  not  denied 
that  the  former  (no  less  than  the  latter)  must  always 
manifest  themselves  in  an  individual ;  all  that  is  main- 
tained is,  that  they  are  not  products  of  one  individual 
but  of  many  individuals,  working  together  in  uninten- 
tional social  co-operation.  The  creative  power  of  a 
social  unit  is  not  equal  to  the  sum  of  the  creative  power 
of  each  of  its  members  taken  separately,  but  exceeds  it. 
Concerning  intentional  literary  collaboration,  Brander 
Matthews l  once  wrote  that  "  when  two  men  have  worked 
together  honestly  and  heartily  in  the  inventing,  the 
developing,  the  constructing,  the  writing,  and  the  revis- 
ing of  a  book  or  a  play,  it  is  often  impossible  for  either 
partner  to  pick  out  his  own  share;  certain  things  he 
may  recognize  as  his  own,  and  certain  other  things  he 
may  credit  frankly  to  his  ally;  but  the  rest  was  the 
result  of  the  collaboration  itself,  contributed  by  both 
parties  together  and  not  by  either  separately."  Exactly 
the  same  takes  place  in  all  unintentional  social  co- 
operation, because  all  the  other  members  of  a  community 
may  share  at  any  time  the  new  invention  (purposely  or 
unwittingly  made)  of  one  of  their  number. 
39  The  problems  of  linguistic  science  present,  therefore, 
two  sides,  one  dealing  with  the  phonetic  and  semantic 
development  of  speech  in  the  individual,  the  other  with 
the  manner  in  which  forms  and  meanings  spread  over  a 
definite  area  and  are  accepted  by  a  certain  community. 
Of  these  two  aspects  the  former  has  received  fuller 
treatment  than  the  latter,  because  our  psychology  has 
been  pre-eminently  a  psychology  of  the  individual 
rather  than  of  social  bodies.  But  inasmuch  as  every 

1  With  my  Friends  (1891),  p.  2. 
80 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

social  phenomenon  owes  its  existence  not  only  to  indi- 
vidual creation  but  also  to  communal  acceptance  (in  fact, 
it  does  not  become  a  social  phenomenon  except  by  such 
acceptance),  it  can  easily  be  seen  that  a  proper  valuation 
and  understanding  of  linguistic  facts  can  only  be  ob- 
tained by  treating  them  as  social  phenomena.  There 
are  especially  two  points  which  must  be  viewed  in  this 
light.  The  first  is  the  uniformity  and  regularity  which . 
is  so  prominent  a  factor  in  language.1  This  uniformity 
is  not  due  to  the  fact  that  many  independent  individuals 
simultaneously  chance  to  coincide  in  certain  innova- 
tions, but  it  is  the  result  of  social  imitation  or  sugges- 
tion by  which  some  individual  innovations  are  contin- 
ually gaining  social  currency  while  the  majority  fail  of 
acceptance.  In  the  discussion  of  phonetic  law  this  prob- 
lem will  be  more  fully  treated.  The  second  point  is  the 
freedom  of  the  individual  in  his  use  of  language  and 
the  influence  of  language  on  the  individual's  mental 
economy.  The  individual  does  not  create  his  lan- 
guage, but  he  receives  in  childhood  a  ready-made  set  of 
symbols  which  he  must  henceforth  use  as  best  he  can. 
And  in  gradually  appropriating  these  definite  symbols 
during  the  formative  period  of  his  mental  life,  they  are 
used  as  a  supporting  trellis  around  which  the  latter 
grows  up.  The  forms  of  every  language  represent  cer- 
tain characteristic  groups  of  associations,  relations,  emo- 
tions ;  and  the  child,  in  learning  to  use  them  intelligently, 
is  forced  to  arrange  his  mental  contents  in  the  same 
groups  in  which  preceding  generations  arranged  theirs. 
For  this  reason  language  serves  as  the  most  important 
assimilative  factor  by  which  minds  of  new  generations 
are  forced  into  uniformity  with  those  of  their  ancestors. 
The  social  value  of  language  lies  in  this  fact,  that  it 

1  Cf.  the  discussion  of  this  point  by  Wundt,  Philos.  Studien,  IV,  p.  25  f. 
6  81 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

makes  psychical  heredity  possible.  Through  physiolog- 
ical heredity  ancestral  traits  can  be  transmitted  to  those 
succeeding  generations  only  which  are  connected  by 
ties  of  blood.  Through  language  it  is  possible  for  pre- 
vious generations  to  affect  the  mental  economy  of 
members  of  later  generations  with  whom  they  have  no 
physical  connection  whatever.  In  this  sense  language 
represents  first  and  foremost  communal  thought,  and  it 
becomes  only  secondarily  the  vehicle  for  individual 
thought,  which  may  often  find  the  limitations  of  lan- 
guage irksome  and  the  set  of  symbols  which  it  provides 
inadequate  for  its  purpose.  This  conflict  between  the 
individual  demands  and  the  communal  means  of  expres- 
sion leads  to  constant  minute  semantic  changes  in  the 
use  of  the  old  material  in  order  to  adapt  it  to  new  usage. 
But  the  very  fact  that  each  innovation  must  await  the 
approval  and  acceptance  of  the  community  delays  all 
linguistic  change  and  causes  it  to  proceed  by  almost  im- 
perceptible steps.1 

40  Linguistic  science,  dealing  with  the  dynamic  prob- 
lems of  language,  presupposes  the  data  of  historical 
grammar.  The  historical  aspect  of  the  facts  of  grammar 
is  as  essential  as  the  historical  aspect  in  every  depart- 
ment of  civilization,  but  it  is  not  final,  because  it  offers 
no  clew  regarding  the  connection  of  the  successive  facts 
which  it  chronicles.  Their  explanation  can  only  be 
furnished  by  psychology.  It  is  the  purpose  of  linguis- 
tics to  resolve  the  highly  complicated  phenomena  of 
language  into  their  component  elements  and  thus  to  cor- 
relate them  with  the  simple  psychical  phenomena  which 
form  the  subject  of  psychological  investigation.  The 
particular  linguistic  phenomenon  finds,  then,  its  expla- 
nation in  the  general  psychological  law.  There  are  no 

1  Cf.  Jodl,  Lehrb.  d.  Psychol.,  p.  593. 
82 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

specific  laws  for  language,  any  more  than  there  are 
specific  laws  of  art  or  mythology.  But  there  are  general 
psychological  laws  which  have  been  deduced  from  the 
observation  of  kindred  phenomena  of  the  various  depart- 
ments of  intellectual  manifestation,  and  in  these  an  ex- 
planation must  be  sought  for  each  particular  fact.  As 
Scherer  very  truly  said  in  a  discussion  of  the  science  of 
history : l  "  History  is  the  science  of  the  life  of  nations. 
.  .  .  Nations  are  the  primary  objects  of  our  observa- 
tion, and  observation  is  the  first  step  toward  the  discov- 
ery of  laws.  The  whole  national  life  must  be  divided 
into  different  sections,  and  the  phenomena  within  each 
of  these  must  be  studied.  Classifications  of  these  phe- 
nomena, and  descriptions  of  each  class,  genus,  and  spe- 
cies, mark  the  beginnings  of  our  investigation.  Ques- 
tions for  their  causes  and  effects  will  of  necessity  lead 
to  a  union  of  the  various  departments  of  national  life. 
...  A  demand  for  an  explanation  of  these  effects  will 
finally  force  the  investigator  to  appeal  to  psychology  in 
order  to  solve  the  final  problems."  Linguistics  is  the 
psychological  study  of  the  facts  of  language,  as  the 
science  of  religion  is  the  psychological  study  of  the  facts 
of  communal  belief,  and  sociology  the  psychological  study 
of  the  facts  of  communal  institutions.  So  conceived, 
linguistics  is  not  a  separate  science,  to  be  contrasted  on 
the  one  hand  with  psychology,  on  the  other  with  descrip- 
tive historical  grammar,  but  it  forms  part  of  the  general 
field  of  psychology.  Certain  facts,  either  of  language, 
or  of  belief,  or  of  communal  life,  present  themselves  to 
the  observer.  To  chronicle  these  and  to  give  them  a 
preliminary  classification  is  the  first  step  of  their  scien- 
tific investigation.  To  explain  their  sequence  is  the 

1  Zt.  f.  d.  oster  Gymnas.,  XVII  (1866),  p.  264  =  Kleine  Schriften,  I, 
p.  170. 

83 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

second  step,  and,  since  they  are  all  essentially  psychical 
phenomena,  this  is  the  province  of  psychology.  Psychol- 
ogy is  the  clearing  house  into  which  all  individual  obser- 
vations made  within  a  limited  field  are  finally  passed  in 
order  that  similar  phenomena  of  different  departments 
may  be  assembled  and  correlated.  Only  through  this 
psychological  analysis  and  the  comparison  of  like  ele- 
ments in  the  different  manifestations  of  intellectual  life 
the  individual  fact  is  seen  in  its  proper  perspective  and 
receives  its  adequate  setting  and  explanation. 
41  The  study  of  the  spoken  language  will,  therefore, 
derive  much  help  from  being  combined  with  the  study 
of  kindred  phenomena.  Of  these  the  language  of  chil- 
dren has  received  the  greatest  attention,  upon  the  prin- 
ciple that  as  in  physiology  so  here  the  ontogenetic 
development  in  the  individual  might  be  considered  as  an 
abbreviated  repetition  of  the  phylogenetic  development 
in  the  race.1  This  principle,  however,  cannot  be  trans- 
ferred directly  from  the  physiological  facts  of  embry- 
ology to  the  psychical  facts  of  linguistic  development, 
because  language  in  the  child  never  develops  freely, 
but  its  natural  growth  is  continually  interfered  with. 
When  Ament,  for  instance,  speaks  of  infantile  sound 
changes,  he  compares  the  transformations  of  Louise's 
first  "word"  mammamm  to  m6mi  and  finally  to  mdma 
with  the  sound  changes  which  in  the  course  of  thou- 
sands of  years  transform  the  words  of  a  people.  But 
these  two  transformations  have  really  nothing  whatever 
to  do  with  each  other.  For  Louise's  changes  are  simply 
due  to  the  clearer  perception  and  more  successful  imita- 
tion of  the  same  model  which  her  nurse  continued  to 
speak  before  her.  The  three  forms  are  successive  stages 

1  Ament,  Die  Entwicklung  von  Sprechen   und  Denken  beim  Kinde 
(1899).    This  contains  a  good  historical  introduction  and  bibliography. 

84 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

in  an  attempt  to  imitate  a  sound,  comparable  to  the 
different  forms  by  which  a  foreign  word  may  be  repre- 
sented in  the  native  idiom.1 

Gesture  language  differs  from  both  speaking  and 
writing,  in  that  in  it  the  movements  themselves  serve  as 
symbols  and  convey  meaning,  while  in  speaking  and 
writing  different  results  of  such  movements  (namely, 
resultant  sounds  or  tracings)  form  the  vehicle  of  com- 
munication. The  fullest  discussion  of  gesture  lan- 
guages and  their  bearing  on  speech  is  now  found  in 
Wundt's  Vdlkerpsychologie.2  Writing,  on  the  other 
hand,  has  received  but  very  scanty  treatment,  although 
it  is  in  most  essential  respects  an  exact  parallel  to  speak- 
ing.3 In  both  cases  a  special  motor  centre  is  charged 
with  directing  the  movements,  here  of  the  vocal  organs, 
there  of  the  hand.  In  both  cases  these  movements  are 
only  indirectly  concerned  in  the  conveyance  of  thought. 
It  is  therefore  to  be  expected  that  writing  and  speaking 
should  show  many  points  of  similarity.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  the  form  of  handwriting  is  as  characteristic  for 
different  nations  as  is  their  idiom.4  What  Preyer  calls 5 
the  famity  type  of  handwriting  is  comparable  to  the 
family  type  of  speech.6  As  in  speaking,  so  in  writing, 
there  is  a  certain  margin  within  which  variations  are 
permitted  and  unheeded  by  the  hearer  or  reader,  and 
these  variations  occur  not  only  in  different  individuals, 
but  often  in  the  same  individual.  Preyer  discusses  at 

1  This  was  written  before  I  saw  Wundt's  criticism  of  Ament's  position, 
Volkerpsychologie,  Die  Sprache,  I,  p.  296,  with  the  note. 

2  Die  Sprache,  I,  p.  131  (with  literature). 

8  Preyer,  Zur Psychologic  des  Schreibens  (1895),  p.  38  :  "Das  Schreiben 
selbst  ist  im  bnchstablichen  Sinne  eine  Art  Fingersprache." 
4  Preyer,  Zur  Psychologie  des  Schreibens  (1895),  p.  2. 
6  Ibid.,  p.  3. 

6  Passy,  in  Phonet.  Stud.,  I,  p.  19-20. 

85 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

some  length  the  use  of  such  polymorphous  letters  (as  e 
and  e)  by  the  same  writers.1  Like  the  phonetic  varia- 
tions, these  graphic  changes  are  due  to  cerebral  causes 
rather  than  to  the  writing  material  or  the  muscles.2 
Preyer  even  alludes  to  cases  of  graphic  mixture,3  in 
which,  by  a  kind  of  associative  interference,  those,  for 
instance,  who  work  intently  and  for  a  long  time  with 
figures  (like  mathematicians)  assimilate  the  form  of 
their  letters  to  the  form  of  somewhat  similar  figures  (as 
B  to  13,  gb  to  96,  etc.).  In  view  of  the  fact  that  the 
movements  of  the  hand  in  writing  are  not  only  less 
complicated  than  the  movements  of  the  vocal  organs  in 
speaking,  but  also  more  easily  registered,  observations 
touching  the  changes  in  the  individual's  mode  of  writ- 
ing as  well  as  in  the  forms  of  letters  of  successive 
periods  should  be  made  which  would  throw  valuable 
light  on  similar  phonetic  variations. 

1  Preyer,  Zur  Psych,  d.  Schreib.,  p.  100. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  33-37. 
8  Ibid.,  p.  133. 


86 


LECTURE  II 

ON  THE  CLASSIFICATION  OF  SIMILAR  SPEECH 
INTO  DIALECTS  AND  LANGUAGES  AND  ON 
THE  NATURE  OF  INFERRED  PARENT  LAN- 
GUAGES 

NORMATIVE  or  didactic  grammar  sets  up  a  certain 
standard  as  correct.  This  standard1  is  obtained  partly 
by  philosophical,  chiefly  logical,  considerations  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  language  ought  to  meet  adequately  the 
demands  made  upon  it,  partly  by  eliminating  geographi- 
cal differences  among  the  "natural"  speakers  and  unit- 
ing what  is  common  to  most  of  them,  partly  by  recog- 
nizing some  one  geographical  area  and  its  speakers  as  a 
model  which  the  rest  should  imitate,  and  partly  by  meas- 
uring the  correctness  of  current  speech  by  the  standard 
of  a  more  or  less  arbitrarily  chosen  past  period,  often 
termed  "classical."  The  first  of  these  methods  is  well 
illustrated  by  the  distinction  of  the  Greek  grammarians 
between  eXXTjwcr/io?,  when  denned  as  equivalent  to 
op66rr]<s  \dyov,  and  its  opposites  /Sapfiapurfjids  and 
0-0X0^07*09,  in  which  the  untutored  speech  betrays 
itself.  This  "illogical"  or  "chance"  speech,  elicaCa 
<jvvr)6eia,  is  sometimes  meant  by  the  term 
Ka6'  rjv  e/eaoTOt  avOpwrroi  BidXeyovrat  trpbs 
Kara  rrjv  ISiav  a-vvijdetav,  as  the  Etymologicum  Magnum 

1  Cf.  Lersch,  Die  Sprachphilosophie  der  Alten,  etc.  (1838),  I,  p.  8 ;  48  £ 
—  On  KoivJi  in  general,  cf.  Paul,  Principien,  ch.  xxiii. 

87 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

defines.  The  second  method  leads  to  the  contrast  be- 
tween Koivrj  Xe£t9  and  StaXe/cro?,  which  is  then  defined 
as  Xe'ft?  Ke^apa^fJievij  eOviKay?  olov  Kara  fj,ev  rrjv  'A.T0£8a 
'  0a\arra,'  Kara  8e  rrjv  'Id8a  '  rjfjLeprj.'  The  third  may 
be  illustrated  by  the  hegemony  of  the  Attic  dialect  as 
the  literary  language  from  the  beginning  of  the  fourth 
century  before  Christ,  and  by  similar  developments  of 
the  "  Kursachsische  Kanzleisprache  "  and  the  Parisian 
French.  The  fourth  and  last  is  seen  in  the  humanistic 
apotheosis  of  the  Ciceronian  Latinity  and  the  unreason- 
able contempt  of  the  humanists  for  the  medieval  Latin, 
which,  after  all,  was  the  organic  development  of  the 
speech  of  Rome. 

2  The  rise  and  subsequent  preponderance  of  historical 
grammar  have  led  in  some  quarters  to  a  condemnation 
without  reserve  of  all  judicial J  attitude  toward  grammar, 
so  that  the  application  of  the  terms  "  correct "  and  "  incor- 
rect "  to  phenomena  of  speech  has  been  tabooed  on  the 
plea  that  whatever  exists  by  the  very  fact  of  its  exist- 
ence is  proved  to  be  right;  that  here  at  least  the  majority 
is  always  right  and  the  minority  always  wrong.  A  clear 
distinction  between  didactic  and  historical  grammar 
obviates  the  difficulty.  It  is  the  aim  of  the  latter  to 
write  a  history  of  a  given  language,  i.  e.,  to  trace  and 
interpret  its  development  through  the  various  periods. 
The  facts  with  which  it  deals  are  not  sub  judice,  but  are 
res  adjudicatae.  It  is  difficult,  therefore,  to  imagine  a 
case  when  historical  grammar  would  be  called  upon  to 
pass  an  opinion  as  to  whether  a  form  or  phrase  be  "  cor- 

1  Cf.  Noreen,  Om  spr&kriktighet  (1888),  adapted  for  German  readers 
by  Johannson  in  Indog.  Forsch.,  I  (1892),  p.  95,  with  additions  by  the 
translator,  p.  232;  also  the  notes  to  Noreen's  article  in  the  Academy, 
Sept.  26,  1891  =  no.  1012,  p.  268;  Anzeiger  f.  dent.  A Iterthum,  XVIII 
(1892),  p.  171  (by  Collitz) ;  Journal  of  Germ.  Philol.,  I  (1897).  p.  103  ; 
Breal,  Qu'appelle-t-on  purete'  de  langue  (Journal  des  Savants,  April,  1897). 

88 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

rect "  or  "  incorrect. "  As  it  would  be  manifestly  absurd 
for  a  historian  to  discuss  what  Hannibal  ought  to  have 
done,  or  to  embellish  his  account  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion with  ethical  speculations,  in  no  less  degree  would 
it  be  labor  lost  if  a  historical  grammar  should  attempt  to 
point  out  the  directions  in  which  a  language  ought  to 
have  developed,  instead  of  recording  and  explaining  the 
actual  facts.  Not  to  criticise,  but  to  explain  and  to  un- 
derstand, is  the  aim  of  all  history.  But  the  historical  atti- 
tude is  not  the  only  one.  It  has  its  own  proper  sphere, 
but  there  are  other  spheres  in  which  another  attitude  may 
be  permissible  or  even  called  for.  The  judicial  attitude, 
which  forms  the  basis  of  didactic  grammar,  having  also 
a  sphere  of  its  own,  the  two  run  parallel,  as  it  were,  and 
there  should  be  no  conflict.  If  the  historical  gramma- 
rian is  a  historian,  the  didactic  grammarian  resembles 
the  politician.  The  former  deals  with  the  past,  and 
with  accomplished  facts  which  no  amount  of  moralizing 
can  change ;  the  latter  has  to  do  with  the  present  and 
future,  and  takes  an  active  part  in  shaping  it.  It  must 
once  for  all  be  clearly  understood  that  "the  people" 
can  be  said  to  make  and  change  language  only  in  the 
same  sense  and  in  so  far  as  "  the  people  "  in  a  democracy 
may  be  said  to  make  and  change  institutions  and  laws, 
or  in  so  far  as  "society  "  may  be  said  to  set  and  change 
fashion.  This  does  not  mean  that  all  members  are  actively 
engaged  in  it.  In  all  three  cases  the  majority  of  the 
people  or  of  society  play  a  passive  and,  in  Tarde's  sense, 
an  imitative  part.  With  them  rests  merely  the  privilege 
of  final  acceptance  or  refusal.  It  is  the  individual  from 
whom  all  social  alterations  start,  be  they  linguistic,  or 
political,  or  economic.  If  it  be  admitted  that  innova- 
tions in  language  are  not  "  natural  growths  "  but  social 
products,  there  is  no  good  reason  why  criticism  should 

89 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

not  be  passed  on  them.  If  language  be  primarily  a  tool, 
why  should  we  not  have  a  right  to  fashion  it  in  the  same 
manner  in  which  we  fashion  social  conduct  by  laws,  and 
with  the  same  partial  success ?  Collitz'  "reverence  for 
the  historical  creations  of  the  people  "  ("  ehrfurcht  vor 
den  geschichtlichen  schopfungen  des  volksgeistes  ")  is  the 
proper  attitude  of  the  historian,  including  the  historian 
of  language ;  but  it  gives  us  no  help  as  to  the  position 
we  are  to  take  toward  a  proposed  innovation.  The  first 
question,  in  such  a  case,  is  whether  it  is  worth  while  to 
take  any  action  whatever,  and  if  this  be  answered  in  the 
affirmative,  by  what  canon  we  should  judge;  and  for 
this  purpose  Noreen's  principles  appear  sound  and  prac- 
tical :  first,  that  changes  in  the  existing  speech-material 
by  which  a  distinct  gain  is  not  obtained  should  be  dis- 
countenanced ;  second,  that,  as  the  chief  aim  of  all  speech 
is  to  be  a  means  of  communicating  thought,  that  form 
of  speech  must  be  deemed  best  which  is  most  quickly 
and  most  clearly  understood  by  the  listener,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  most  easily  produced  by  the  speaker. 
Wrong  (because  counteracting  the  very  purpose  of 
speech)  is  therefore  everything  which  is  likely  to  be 
misunderstood,  or  cannot  be  understood  at  all,  or  is 
understood  only  by  some  effort,  or  increases  the  diffi- 
culty of  production  (as  the  retention  of  foreign  sounds 
in  naturalized  words),  or  requires  special  mental  labor 
on  the  speaker's  part  by  falling  outside  his  customary 
association  groups,  or  additional  physical  exertion  by 
unnecessary  fulness.  And  finally,  a  point  neglected  by 
Noreen,  as  speech  is  the  raw  material  from  which  litera- 
ture is  hewn,  the  aesthetic  canons  of  literature  must  in  a 
certain  measure  react  upon  speech,  so  that  the  adoption 
or  rejection  of  an  innovation  may  depend  on  purely  aes- 
thetic considerations,  such  as  ugliness  due  to  low  asso- 

90 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

ciations.  In  this  way  it  may  happen  that  the  same  phrase 
at  different  periods  of  a  language  may  be  literary  or 
vulgar,  not  because  it  is  inherently  so,  but  because  its 
rank  is  determined  by  the  company  it  keeps  and  the 
place  where  it  was  born. 

All  such  considerations,  however,  being  of  an  entirely 
practical  kind,  lie  as  much  outside  the  scope  of  the 
scientific  study  of  language  as  practical  therapeutics  is 
outside  the  domain  of  scientific  physiology,  and  can 
therefore  play  no  part  in  the  following  discussion. 
3  To  the  student  of  scientific  grammar  the  question  of 
dialect l  presents  itself  on  the  one  hand  as  a  dynamic, 
on  the  other  as  a  static  problem.  A  clear  distinction 
between  these  two  will  prove  helpful  here  as  elsewhere 
in  avoiding  ambiguity.  We  speak  of  static  problems 
when  the  historical  object  is  regarded  as  stationary,  and 
our  task  is  to  examine  the  qualities  exhibited  by  the 
object  at  one  given  point  of  time.  If  such  an  examina- 
tion be  extended  over  a  number  of  successive  stages,  the 
result  of  the  examination  at  each  stage  marks  a  point 
through  which  the  object  in  its  development  passed. 
The  dynamic  view,  on  the  other  hand,  considers  the 
object  as  being  in  continual  motion,  and  the  task  now  is 
to  determine  the  forces  which  govern  this  motion.  In 
the  former  case  we  ask  quale  sit  aut  fuerit^  in  the  latter 
quomodo  fiat  aut  factum  sit;  similarly  in  mathematics  a 
curve  may  be  regarded  either  as  a  system  of  discrete 
points  (static  view),  or  as  the  track  of  a  point  moving 
under  the  influence  of  certain  forces  (dynamic  view). 
We  have  here,  as  so  often,  two  different  ways  of  look- 

1  The  most  important  pointy  affecting  the  scientific  study  of  dialects 
were  brought  out  in  the  controversy  regarding  the  boundaries  of  Romance 
dialects  which  is  admirably  summarized  by  Horning  in  Zt.  f.  roman. 
Philol.,  XVII  (1893),  p.  160  c,  f. 

91 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

ing  at  the  same  thing,  both  of  them  being  equally 
justified,  both  of  them  being  equally  necessary  for  a 
complete  understanding  which  can  only  be  gained  by  a 
combination  —  but  not  a  confusion  —  of  the  descriptive- 
historical  (static)  and  the  explanatory-analytical  (dy- 
namic) methods. 

The  treatment  of  dialects  as  a  dynamic  problem l  be- 
longs to  the  discussion  of  the  causes  which  produce  and 
counteract  changes  in  languages.  This  aspect  of  the 
case  has  for  this  reason  been  disregarded  in  the  follow- 
ing pages,  which  confine  themselves  to  static  questions 
alone.  The  question  now  before  us  is,  What  is  a 
dialect?  and  not,  How  did  dialects  arise? 
4  And,  to  begin  with,  how  does  the  concept  of  a  dialect 
originate  and  of  what  character  are  the  elements  com- 
posing it? 

Here,  as  often,  science  has  adopted  a  popular  concept, 
for  neither  term  nor  idea  is  the  result  of  scientific  inves- 
tigation but  of  naive  observation.  The  naive  person 
expects  every  one  to  talk  like  himself ;  if  he  be  an  Eng- 
lishman, he  is  genuinely  surprised  to  learn  that  even 
the  children  in  France  speak  French,  and  regards  it  as 
one  of  many  defects  on  their  part.  Hence  the  fact  that 
he  and  his  neighbor  talk  alike  fails  to  arouse  his  atten- 
tion or  interest.  This  fact,  indeed,  is  not  noted  by 
him  until  he  is  confronted  by  a  group  of  individuals 
differing  from  him  in  their  speech.  The  contrast  for 
the  first  time  makes  him  realize  the  identity  of  speech 
of  himself  and  the  members  of  his  group.  This  speech- 
identity  of  his  group  he  conceives  of  as  the  dialect  of 
his  group. 

The  question  why  there  is  such  a  difference  does  not 

1  Paul's  second  chapter  (Principien,  §  22  f.)  deals  chiefly  with  the  dy- 
namic side. 

92 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

present  itself  until  much  later.  Dynamic  elements, 
therefore,  originally  never  enter  into  the  make-up  of  this 
concept.  They  are  without  value  for  the  immediate 
purpose  for  which  the  concept  was  created;  for  the 
forces  to  which  identity  and  diversity  of  speech  are  due 
have  no  direct  bearing  on  the  contrast  between  "like 
speech"  and  "unlike  speech." 

The  whole  concept  rests  largely  on  a  static  basis. 
When  we  term  the  speech-identity  of  a  certain  group  its 
dialect,  we  combine  in  this  concept  a  large  number  of 
separate  judgments  passed  on  the  quality  of  the  speech 
of  a  certain  number  of  individuals,  singling  out  their 
speech  from  that  of  the  rest  and  claiming  likeness  for  it. 
The  term  "  dialect "  thus  denotes,  not  an  object,  but  a 
certain  relation  of  the  speech  of  one  set  of  individuals  to 
that  of  another  set.  For  this  reason  it  is  neither  inde- 
pendent nor  constant,  but  its  meaning  varies  as  the 
relation  varies  which  it  indicates.  Those  who  do  not  ob- 
ject to  mathematical  phraseology  may  define  the  term 
"dialect  "  (D)  as  a  function  (_F)  of  the  relation  of  one 
speech -group  (s^)  to  another  speech-group  (s2):  D  = 
F  (s1  :  «2).  So  understood,  a  dialect  cannot  be  said  to 
grow  or  to  develop,  for  it  represents  the  classification  of 
the  speech  of  certain  individuals  at  some  one  definite 
point  of  time,  this  classification  being  based  on  the 
identity  and  diversity,  respectively,  of  the  language 
of  these  individuals. 

5  If  the  concept  of  dialect  were  the  result  of  scientific 
considerations  it  would  rest  upon  a  purely  static  basis  and 
be  thoroughly  homogeneous.  But  being  of  popular 
origin,  there  is,  as  in  many  concepts  of  this  class,  an 
admixture  of  foreign  elements,  which  are  neither  static 
nor  yet  dynamic ;  elements,  in  fact,  which  are  in  no  way 
inherent  in  the  object  itself,  but  connected  with  it  by 

93 


LECTURES  ON   THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

external  ties  of  temporal  or  local  contiguity.  I  propose 
to  call  these  elements  "associative  elements."  Espe- 
cially where  the  other  elements  are  weak,  indistinct,  and 
insufficient  to  produce  a  sufficiently  clear  concept,  the 
latter  will  be  found  supported,  as  it  were,  by  a  frame- 
work of  such  associative  elements.  So  elements  of  the 
percept  "lamp  "  may  associatively  enter  into  the  concept 
"light,"  or  those  of  "a  court  of  law"  into  that  of 
"justice."  For  practical  purposes  this  associative  ad- 
mixture causes  little  or  no  inconvenience,  because  the 
total  picture  is  sufficiently  definite.  When,  however, 
these  same  terms  are  used  for  scientific  purposes,  the 
heterogeneous  character  of  their  composition  gives  rise 
to  much  ambiguity  and,  consequently,  to  controversy. 
In  this  case  it  becomes  a  matter  of  importance  to  distin- 
guish between  the  various  elements  which  make  up  the 
concept,  especially  with  a  view  to  remove  the  dangerous 
associative  elements. 

Now  speech  is  indissolubly  linked  to  the  speaking 
individual.  And,  consequently,  wholly  heterogeneous 
elements  associatively  enter  into  our  concept,  which,  for 
want  of  a  better  term,  might  be  called  "ethnological." 

After  'the  contrast  of  speech  of  two  groups  A  and  B 
had  been  noted  and  found  expression  in  the  formation 
of  the  concepts  "^.-dialect"  and  "  J?-dialect, "  it  became 
evident  that  these  dialectal  groups  corresponded  to  cer- 
tain political  groups.  And  the  more  normal  and  primi- 
tive the  conditions,  the  closer  must  have  been  the  simi- 
larity between  these  groups,  the  stronger,  therefore,  also 
the  associative  tie  by  which  they  were  held  together. 
The  inevitable  result  was  a  fusion  in  which  elements  of 
one  concept  passed  over  'into  the  other.  Thus  the  con- 
cept of  a  dialect,  which  arose  from  the  necessity  of 
marking  the  relation  of  a  certain  kind  of  speech  to  an- 

94 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

other  kind  of  speech,  by  this  admixture  of  ethnological 
elements  departs  somewhat  from  its  original  connotation 
and  comes  to  be  used  not  only  with  reference  to  a  cer- 
tain relation  existing  between  two  kinds  of  speech,  but 
also  denoting  a  given  speech  as  characteristic  of  a  given 
political  group;  and  thus  part  of  its  purely  abstract 
character  is  lost.  From  being  a  purely  linguistic  term 
it  has  been  turned  into  a  term  which  is  partly  ethnolog- 
ical (or  political)  and  partly  linguistic.  Where  the  dialec- 
tal groups  chance  to  coincide  with  the  political  groups 
there  are  no  bad  results.  But  as  there  is  no  necessity 
whatever  for  a  parallel  development  along  ethnological 
(political)  and  linguistic  lines,  it  is  easily  seen  that  two 
such  meanings  cannot  safely  be  combined  in  the  same 
term. 

6  After  we  have  thus  determined  the  character  of  the 
elements  of  which  the  popular  concept  of  a  dialect  is 
composed,  we  must  turn  to  examine  somewhat  minutely 
the  exact  manner  of  procedure  in  the  formation  of  this 
concept. 

The  knowledge  which  we  obtain  concerning  speech  is 
either  subjective  or  objective. 

The  knowledge  which  is  based  upon  the  direct  acous- 
tic sense-impressions  conveyed  to  our  brain  by  the 
speech-sounds  I  term  subjective. 

Objective  knowledge  of  speech,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
based  on  a  direct  examination  of  the  stimuli  producing 
our  sensations. 

Neither  one  of  these  two  methods  can  rightly  claim  a 
superiority  over  the  other.  Both  alike  are  empirical. 
They  differ  only  in  that  the  objects  of  investigation 
differ.  In  the  former  case  we  examine  sensations,  in 
the  latter  case  stimuli.  Their  results,  therefore,  can 
never  be  said  to  conflict.  For,  if  the  results  obtained 

95 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

by  one  method  are  not  like  those  obtained  by  means  of 
the  other,  the  diversity  merely  shows  that  sensation  and 
stimulus  are  two  different  things. 

7  In  the  na'ive  observation  which  formed  the  concept  of 
a  dialect  the  objective  method  played  no  part.  It  was 
formed  wholly  subjectively,  i.  e. ,  it  is  based  on  sensa- 
tions only,  not  on  a  knowledge  of  the  stimuli  which 
gave  rise  to  these  sensations. 

Such  subjective  knowledge  is  characterized  by  the 
following  qualities.  In  the  first  place  our  sensations  are 
but  an  imperfect  and  not  wholly  trustworthy  record  of 
the  stimuli  which  cause  them.  This  is  partly  due  to 
the  fact  that  our  organs  of  sense  are  of  moderate  sensi- 
tiveness. As  a  consequence  certain  stimuli  are  not 
perceived  at  all;  witness,  for  instance,  the  upper  and 
lower  limit  for  audible  tones.  In  the  same  manner 
variations  of  a  stimulus  within  certain  bounds  are  not 
discovered,1  so  that,  for  instance,  if  a  weight  of  270  g. 
be  put  upon  one  supported  hand,  a  weight  of  270  X  f 
=  360  g.  must  be  placed  on  the  other  hand  to  insure  the 
realization  of  a  difference  in  weight,  while  two  weights 
of  270  g.  and  300  g.  so  placed  would  not  be  felt  at  all  to 
differ  in  weight  (Weber's  law). 

Again  we  are  subject  to  deception2  by  our  senses, 
either  because  our  sensations  actually  deceive  us  or 
because  we  misinterpret  what  they  correctly  conveyed. 
A  large  number  of  optical  illusions  are  easily  recalled  to 
illustrate  this  point.  And  finally  the  accuracy  of  our 
subjective  observation  is  impaired,  because  every  percept 
which  newly  enters  our  sensorium  not  only  calls  up  the 
memory  of  a  like  percept  previously  experienced,  but  is 

1  Cf.  e.  g.  Hofler,  Psychologic  (1897),  p.  137.    Rousselot,  Modifications, 
p.  3  (in  fine). 

2  Cf.  Hofler,  Psychologie  (1897),  p.  216. 

96 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

assimilated 1  with  it,  so  that  an  actually  existing  defi- 
ciency in  the  last  will  probably  escape  notice  because  it 
is  supplied  from  the  memory  of  all  the  previous  ones. 
It  is  thus  that  we  fail  to  detect  misprints,  or  slight 
errors  of  speech,  in  the  same  way  in  which  we  supply 
from  memory  to  the  visual  suggestion  of  the  stage  set- 
ting those  additional  sensations  which  give  it  reality. 
We  usually  hear  and  see  not  what  is  actually  spoken  or 
shown,  but  what,  according  to  our  experience,  ought  to 
be  spoken  or  shown. 

As,  for  these  reasons,  our  subjective  observation  lacks 
faithfulness,  so  it  also  lacks  uniformity.  For  the  degree 
of  accuracy  depends  on  two  things:  first,  on  practice,2 
as  appears  in  judging  distances,  weights,  the  intervals 
between  musical  notes,  so  that,  according  to  Weber's 
experiments,  some  persons  of  great  practice  in  drawing 
were  able  to  detect  a  difference  in  the  length  of  two 
lines,  the  proportion  of  which  was  as  50  to  51  or  even  as 
100  to  101,  while  for  others  to  assure  detection  the 
difference  between  the  two  lines  must  not  fall  below  -£% 
of  their  length.  In  the  second  place,  accuracy  of  obser- 
vation depends  on  attention,  which,  in  turn,  is  propor- 
tionate to  our  interest.3  This  is  of  especial  importance 

1  Cf.  Wundt,  Logik,  I  (2d  ed.),  p.  17  ff.,  on  "assimilation  "  and  "com- 
plication." 

2  Cf.  Hofler,  Psychologic  (1897), p.  142. 

8  "  To  discern  likeness  amidst  diversity,"  says  George  Eliot  very  truly 
(Impressions  of  Theophrastus  Such,  XVIII,  p.  202),  "  it  is  well  known,  does 
not  require  so  fine  a  mental  edge  as  the  discerning  of  diversity  amidst 
general  sameness."  And  similarly  Gumplowicz  (Rassenkampf,  p.  187) 
says :  "  Auch  der  Umstand,  dass  das  menschliche  Ange  sich  erst  lange 
iiben  muss,  urn  Verschiedenheiten  menschlicher  Typen  zu  unterscheiden, 
tragt  viel  dazu  bei,  dass  wir  oft  Rassen-  und  Stammeseinheit  dort  wahr- 
zunehmen  glauben,  wo  sie  thatsachlich  nicht  existirt.  Fur  das  nngeiibte 
Auge  des  Europaeers  sind  alle  Bewohner  Chinas  ein  Menschenschlag," 
and  in  his  Grundziige  der  Sociologie,  p.  89,  he  quotes  Passavant,  who  in  his 
Craniologische  Untersuchungen  der  Neger  und  Negervolker  speaks  of  the 
7  97 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

where,  as  in  speaking,  a  complex  object  (the  spoken 
word)  can  be  observed  for  a  short  time  only.  As  it  is 
possible  to  attend  to  only  one  thing  at  a  time,  a  short 
observation-time  will  necessarily  prevent  all  qualities  of 
the  object  from  being  equally  attended  to.  Equally 
noteworthy  is  the  fact  that  our  attention  is  centred  on 
the  meaning  of  a  phrase  and  not  on  its  form. 

From  this  it  appears  that  in  subjectively  forming  the 
concept  of  a  dialect  we  may  a  priori  assume  — 

(a)  That  certain  stimuli,  though  present,  were  disre- 
garded because  they  were  not  perceived. 

(5)  That  the  ratio  of  two  or  more  sensations  permits 
no  direct  inference  as  to  the  ratio  of  the  corresponding 
stimuli. 

(c)  That  the  results  must  vary  in  direct  proportion  to 
both  practice  and  attention  of  the  observer. 

By  this  method  the  naive  observer  classifies  the  speech 
of  the  individuals  surrounding  him,  and,  as  we  saw 
above,  by  a  ^eraySao-i?  into  the  ethnological  7«/o5,  these 
individuals  themselves.  The  speech  which  is  like  his 
he  groups  into  one  class;  the  speech  which  is  different 
from  his  into  a  second  class.  As  in  all  classification, 
he  thus  simplifies  the  comprehension  of  a  large  number 
of  individual  objects.  Like  all  generic  names,  the 
name  of  a  dialect  does  not  stand  for  any  perceptual 
object,  but  expresses  a  peculiar  relation  of  a  series  of 
perceptual  objects.  It  stands,  not  for  a  sense-percept, 
but  for  the  particular  manner  in  which  we  have  viewed 
and  grouped  a  number  of  sense-percepts. 

difficulty  in  keeping  apart  the  physiognomies  of  the  negroes :  "  Anfanglich 
schienen  alle  dasselbe  Gesicht  zu  haben."  In  a  similar  way  objectively 
different  sounds  are  often  perceived  as  identical,  cf.  Paul's  Principien, 
p.  51,  end  of  §  36;  Siever's  Grundziige  der  Phonetik  (4th  ed.),  p.  248; 
Wechssler,  Forschungen  zur  Roman.  Philol.  (Festg.  f.  Suchier),  1900, 
p.  370  f. 

98 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

Two  ways  are  open  for  such  classification: 
I.  We  may  begin  by  tracing  a  certain  system  of 
boundary  lines  within  which  we  include  kindred 
objects.  This  method  is  inconvenient  whenever  the 
objects  to  be  classified  are  not  sharply  contrasted  but 
gradually  pass  one  into  the  other,  so  that  it  becomes 
impossible  to  fix  upon  a  definite  line  of  demarcation. 
Such  gradual  transition  we  have  in  speech,  as  in  many 
other  instances,  and  it  has  led  experimental  investiga- 
tors like  Tourtoulon  and  J.  Simon  to  substitute  an 
intermediary  zone  (zone  inter  mediaire)  for  a  divisional 
line  (limite,  barriere  dialectale).1  In  view  of  the  fact 
that  no  two  kinds  of  speech  can  come  into  continued 
contact  without  affecting  one  another  and  producing 
along  the  peripheral  line  of  contact  a  fusion  and  mix- 
ture, this  result  was  to  be  expected.  It  is  also  at  once 
apparent  that  these  divisional  zones  are  not  necessarily 
constant,  but  may  shift  in  the  course  of  time.2  The 
reason  for  this  is  twofold.3  Either  the  dialect  extends 
because  those  who  originally  speak  it  expand  and  drive 
back  their  neighbors  (physical  expansion),  or  a  dialect 
spreads  because  those  neighbors  who  originally  had  a 
dialect  of  their  own  are  willing  to  renounce  it;  in  other 
words,  because  the  speakers  of  the  growing  dialect  are, 
for  purely  political,  social,  and  economic  reasons,  suc- 
cessful in  commanding  imitation  and  acceptance  of  the 
peculiarities  of  their  idiom  (imitative  expansion). 

1  Instances  of  dialectal  boundary-lines  in  Zt.  f.  roman.  Philol.,  XVIII 
(1893),  p.  162  f.,  and  Forschungen  z.  rom.  Philol.  (Festgabe  f.  Suchier), 
1900,  p.  523,  note  1. 

2  Storm,  Englische  Philologie  (2d  ed.),  p.  49,  "Esist  iiberhanpt  ein 
bisher  in  der  Sprachgeschichte  nicht  genug  beachteter  Umstand,  dass  sich 
die  Granzen  der  sprachlichen  Gebiete  oft  verriicken." 

8  Illustrations  e.  g.  in  Zimmerli's  Die  deutschfranzosische  Sprach- 
grenze  in  der  Schweiz  (1891-99),  three  vols. 

99 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

9  II.  But  instead  of  starting  from  the  periphery,  we 
may  also  select  a  centre  around  which  a  number  of  kin- 
dred objects  are  grouped  in  concentric  circles,  the  radius 
of  these  circles  being  inversely  proportional  to  the  de- 
gree of  similarity  with  the  centre. 

If  we  choose  for  such  a  centre  one  of  the  many  con- 
crete objects  which  are  to  be  classified,  I  propose  to  call 
this  a  concrete  centre.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  con- 
struct the  centre  on  the  basis  of  the  concrete  objects, 
none  of  them  being  absolutely  identical  with  it,  I  will 
call  this  an  ideal  centre. 

Let  us  first  examine  the  manner  in  which  such  an 
ideal  centre  may  be  constructed.  We  must  distinguish 
here  between  two  possibilities : 

A.  If  we  classify  single  qualities  expressible  in  num- 
bers (e.  </.,  weight,  distance,  etc.),  the  ideal  centre  is 
equal  to  the  mean  (either  arithmetical  or  geometric)  of 
these  qualitative  figures.     Around  the  mean  thus  ob- 
tained the  variations   may  be   grouped.      And  such  a 
classification    is    of   especial    interest    because   certain 
mathematical  theories  may  be  directly  brought  to  bear 
on  it.     For  Que'telet1  showed,  in  1846,  that  the  differ- 
ent variations  grouped  around  such  a  mean  may  be  re- 
garded as  so  many  fallible  measurements  of  this  same 
mean,  and  that  therefore  the  Law  of  the  Frequency  of 
Error  may  be  applied  to  them.2     We  shall  return  to  this 
point  below. 

B.  But  if  we  classify,  not  single  qualities,  but  whole 

1  Quetelet,  Lettres  snr  la  theorie  des  probability's  appliquee  aux  sciences 
mor.  et  polit.  (1846),  Lettre  XVIII,  p.  119. 

2  Cf .  on  this  also  Stieda,  Archiv  f.  Anthropol.,  XIV,  167  ;  Galton,  Proc. 
Koy.  Soc.    (1879),   XXIX,  365;  McAlister,   ibid.,  p.  367;  Galton,  ibid. 
(1899),  XLV,  135,  and  the  applications  by  Galton  (above),  Davenport  and 
Bullard,  Proc.  Am.  Ac.  Arts  and  Sci.  (1897),  XXXII,  No.  4,  and  Brew- 
ster,  ibid.,  No.  15. 

100 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

objects,  we  construct  our  ideal  centre  in  a  somewhat 
different  way. 

We  begin  by  comparing  all  objects  (o^  .  .  .  on)  as  to 
their  qualities.  It  will  then  appear  — 

(a)  That  certain  qualities  are  present  in  the  same 
degree  or  manner  in  all  objects  (constant  qualities). 

(6)  Certain  qualities  are  present  in  all  objects,  but  not 
in  the  same  degree  or  manner  (variable  qualities). 

(c)  Certain  qualities  are  present  in  some  objects  and 
absent  in  others  (variable  qualities). 

Our  ideal  centre  or  type,  0,  must  then  be  constructed 
in  such  a  manner  that  it  will  contain  all  qualities  enu- 
merated above  under  (a)  and  those  qualities  enumerated 
under  (6)  and  (c)  in  the  most  characteristic  manner  or 
degree,  by  which  is  meant  that  manner  or  degree  which 
will  permit  the  variations  as  they  appear  in  the  concrete 
objects  to  be  most  easily  deduced  from  0. 

A  comparison  of  any  one  concrete  object  ox  with  the 
ideal  centre  0  will  then  show  that  ox  varies  from  0 
either  in  lacking  a  quality  which  0  has,  or  in  possessing 
a  quality  which  0  lacks,  or  in  possessing  a  quality  in  a 
degree  or  manner  differing  from  that  of  0. 

The  ideal  centre  constructed  in  the  preceding  para- 
graph has,  of  course,  no  perceptual  existence.  But  sup- 
pose that  after  the  construction  of  such  an  ideal  centre  it 
should  be  found  that  one  of  the  concrete  objects  to  be 
classified  shows  no  variation  from  it,  that,  e.  g.,  oy  =  0. 

In  this  case  it  is  plain  that  we  might  discard  0  alto- 
gether and  substitute  oy  in  its  place.  This  concrete 
object  oy  would  then  appear  in  a  double  r61e,  namely, 
first,  as  one  of  the  many  concrete  objects  forming  the 
series  o^  .  .  .  on,  and  second,  as  ideal  centre  or  type 
of  this  series. 

In  this  case,  then,  the  centre  or  type  really  does  possess 

101 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

perceptual  existence,  and  we  distinguish  it  from  the 
ideal  type  just  discussed  by  calling  it  a  concrete 
type.  Whenever  we  have  to  deal  with  generic  terms 
it  is  of  great  importance  to  determine  in  each  case 
whether  we  have  to  do  with  an  ideal  or  a  concrete 
type. 

This  examination  will  be  our  next  task,  and  by  it  we 
shall  find  that  all  dialectal  forms  are  concrete  types  and 
therefore  possess  perceptual  existence,  while  the  results 
of  all  higher  classification  beyond  these,  such  as  lan- 
guage-forms, are  ideal  types. 

10  For  this  purpose  it  is  necessary  to  investigate  those 
individual  objects  which,  in  the  manner  discussed  above, 
are  fused  into  the  generic  concept  of  a  dialect.  These 
elements  are,  of  course,  the  speech-forms  of  the  various 
members  of  the  dialectal  unit,  which  may  be  designated 
as  C/i  Z72  .  .  .  Un.  But  "  speech-form  of  a  member  of  a 
dialectal  unit "  is  itself  a  generic  concept.  It  is  based 
on  the  sum  of  momentary  utterances  (%M2  .  .  .  ?/„)  of 
each  member,  and  our  attention  must  therefore  be  first 
directed  toward  these  momentary  utterances. 

The  basis  for  any  given  momentary  utterance  (u)  of 
an  individual  is  a  certain  psycho-physical  disposition  or 
diathesis  A.1  In  this  respect  language  does  not  differ 
from  any  other  movement.  As  the  expressive  movement 
of  a  gesture  affects  our  sight,  so  the  expressive  move- 
ment which  gives  rise  to  the  spoken  word  affects  our 
hearing.  As  a  repeated  gesture  is  not  the  same  as  the 
first  original  gesture,  so  the  repeated  utterance  is  not 
the  same  as  the  first  original  utterance.  Neither  the 
gesture  nor  utterance  has  a  latent  existence  during 

1  For  functional  disposition  cf.  Wundt,  Phys.  Psych.,  II,  263,  473  ;  Je- 
rusalem, Urtheilsf unction,  p.  4.  Paul's  Principien,  §  12,  p.  23,  must  be 
revised  accordingly. 

102 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

the  interval;  but  the  original  gesture  or  utterance  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  repeated  gesture  or  utterance  on 
the  other  hand,  are  linked  together,  not  directly,  but 
indirectly  by  the  psycho-physical  diathesis  of  which  they 
are  respectively  the  results.  This  diathesis  remains ;  its 
results  absolutely  vanish.  Consequently  the  repeated 
momentary  utterances  do  not  exist  independently  of 
each  other,  but  as  effects  of  their  respective  psycho- 
physical  diathesis;  so  that,  as  long  as  this  diathesis 
remains  the  same,  the  utterances  will  remain  so  also. 

But  while  we  may  thus  speak  of  repeated  utterances 
as  results  of  a  given  diathesis,  it  is  conversely  true  that 
this  diathesis  itself  is  in  turn  the  product  of  all  the 
speech  movements  which  have  gone  before.  For  the 
strength  of  the  diathesis  depends  on  practice.  The  con- 
stancy of  a  diathesis  is  proportionate  to  the  number  of 
repetitions  of  the  movement,  and  the  probability  that  a 
given  movement  will  be  performed  in  a  given  way  is  the 
stronger  the  oftener  such  movement  has  been  so 
performed. 

The  first  utterance,  Wj,  creates  a  weak  diathesis,  A, 
on  account  of  which  a  second  utterance,  MJ,  will  be  sim- 
ilar to  Wj ;  but,  like  every  subsequent  utterance,  w2  wiU 
react  on  A  and  strengthen  it.  In  the  adult,  therefore, 
the  diathesis,  under  normal  conditions,  must  be  con- 
stant, and  the  utterances  belonging  to  it  alike. 


A 

(Because  A  is  of  increasing  stability,  «j  =  «2  =  . .  .  «n.) 
103 


LECTURES   ON   THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

This  stability  is  borne  out  by  the  observations  of  both 
Rousselot 1  and  Bourdon.2  The  former  states  that  "  the 
patois  is  formed  during  infancy,  and  thereafter  it  does 
not  undergo  any  further  appreciable  changes  at  least  on 
the  phonetic  side,"  while  the  latter  defines  the  "speech 
of  an  individual ". as  "a  complexus  of  organized  actions 
which  by  repetition  have  become  habitual." 

In  order  to  avoid  misunderstanding,  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  in  these  observations  likeness  and  unlike- 
ness  are  here  understood  to  have  been  determined  by 
purely  subjective  methods.  It  is  not  denied  that  varia- 
tions may  exist  and  could  be  discovered  by  an  objective 
examination.  All  that  is  claimed  is,  that  if  such  varia- 
tions exist  they  are  not  perceived  as  such.  This,  as  we 
have  seen  above,  is  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  our  senses 
are  not  keen  enough ;  partly  because  we  fuse  every  new 
sense -percept  with  the  memory  of  past  ones  and  thus 
hear  what  we  expect  to  hear ;  partly  because  our  atten- 
tion is  directed  toward  the  contents  and  not  toward  the 
form  of  an  utterance ;  partly  because  we  compare  sensa- 
tions which  do  not  follow  each  other  in  quick  succes- 
sion, but  the  memory  of  one  sensation  is  separated  from 
the  next  similar  sensation  by  a  longer  or  shorter  inter- 
val ;  and  partly  for  the  following  reason. 

Suppose  that  we  have  n  variations  (v^  ,  .  .  VB) 
grouped  around  the  type  or  mean  F.  Suppose,  further, 
that  of  these  n  variations  a  few  lying  close  to  vl 
and  v  (i.  e.,  close  to  either  extreme)  are  sensibly  per- 
ceptible; but  that  those  variations  which  lie  between  v^ 


1  Modifications,  p.  163  f. 

2  Rev.  philosophique,  XXVI  (1888),  p.  344 

104 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

and  vv  are  not  perceptibly  different  to  the  subjective 
observer  from  the  type  V.  The  Law  of  the  Frequency 
of  Error  teaches,  then,  that  of  all  n  variations  the  great- 
est number  is  bunched  closely  around  V.  That  is,  by 
far  the  greater  percentage  of  these  n  variations  must  fall 
between  vy  and  vx  and  is  therefore  sensibly  perceived  as 
equal  to  V.  The  number  of  variations,  then,  which  is 
subjectively  perceived  as  differing  from  V  is  in  many 
cases  far  too  weak  to  act  as  a  disturbing  element. 

We  have  seen  above  that  repeated  momentary  utter- 
ances of  the  same  individual  are  subjectively  perceived 
as  alike.  If  we  now  form  the  type  U  of  the  whole 
series  of  these  momentary  utterances  (ui  .  .  .  wn),  we 
may,  under  these  conditions,  take  any  u  as  such  a  type, 
and  we  thus  obtain  a  concrete  type : 

U  =  Wj  =  u<i  =  .  .  .  un. 

We  may,  in  other  words,  take  a  given  momentary  utter- 
ance of  an  individual,  say  ux,  as  representative  of  his 
average  utterance  £7,  because  there  is  an  overwhelming 
probability  that  the  diathesis  which  gave  rise  to  %,  and 
itself  was  the  product  of  the  whole  series  u±  to  %,  will 
produce  an  uv  and  ug  which  will  be,  subjectively, 
like  ux. 

11  Having  thus  determined  of  what  character  the  aver- 
age utterance  of  an  individual  is,  we  must  now  compare 
the  average  utterances  UiU^  .  .  .  Un  of  the  various 
members  of  a  dialectal  unit,  on  which,  as  we  saw  above, 
our  concept  of  a  dialect  is  founded. 

Now,  at  the  time  when  the  concept  of  a  dialect  was 
first  formed  they  must  have  been  subjectively  alike,  for 
this  very  likeness  was  the  cause  for  combining  them  into 
a  class.  And  if  all  £7's  were  alike,  their  bases,  namely, 
the  respective  diatheses  (AiA2 .  .  .  AB)  of  the  various 

105 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

members  of  the  dialectal  group,  must  have  been  alike 
also. 

Again,  in  the  case  of  normal  accessions  to  the  dialec- 
tal group,  namely,  by  birth,  the  diathesis  of  each  child 
was  formed  by  the  sum  total  of  its  utterances.  And 
these  utterances  being,  consciously  and  unconsciously, 
fashioned  after  the  utterances  of  its  surroundings,  would 
naturally  produce  in  each  child  a  diathesis  similar  to  the 
diatheses  around  it. 

But  suppose  that,  for  reasons  which  need  not  be  dis- 
cussed here,  members  of  ,a  dialectal  group  should  per- 
ceptibly differ  from  the  rest.  In  this  case  we  may 
plainly  see  how  the  admixture  of  the  heterogeneous 
ethnological  elements  (which  was  pointed  out  as  a  source 
of  error  above)  will  tend  to  vitiate  the  very  connotation 
which  the  concept  originally  possessed.  For  we  have 
seen  that  it  was  devised  to  denote  a  likeness,  to  unite 
in  one  class  the  speech  of  individuals  talking  alike. 
To  group  together  a  number  of  individuals  in  a  dialectal 
group  when  their  speech  differs  is  plainly  a  contradic- 
tion in  terms.  And  such  grouping  does,  in  fact,  not 
rest  on  the  basis  on  which  the  original  concept  of  the 
dialect  was  formed,  but  on  an  entirely  different,  heter- 
ogeneous basis,  namely,  either  sameness  of  origin  or  of 
nationality.  The  introduction  of  this  double  standard 
is  the  source  of  vagueness  and  ambiguity,  to  which 
reference  has  already  been  made.  And  for  scientific 
purposes  it  is  certainly  essential  to  remove  from  the  con- 
cept of  a  dialect  these  heterogeneous,  ethnological 
elements  and  confine  it  most  strictly  to  its  original 
sense.  Suppose,  then,  that  new  members  added  to  the 
political  group,  which,  up  to  that  time,  had  continued 
to  be  identical  with  the  dialectal  group,  do  perceptibly 
differ  in  speech  from  the  rest.  It  will  simply  mean  that 

106 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

this  identity  of  political  group  and  dialectal  group  has 
ceased,  and  that  we  now  have  two  (or  more)  dialectal 
groups  within  the  same  political  group. 

From  these  observations  it  will  be  apparent  that  from 
the  very  definition  of  a  dialectal  group  we  must  assume 
all  Z7's  of  its  members  to  be  subjectively  alike,  from 
which  a  corresponding  similarity  of  the  respective  diathe- 
ses (Ai  .  .  .  An)  may  be  inferrred. 

The  diagram  below  may  serve  to  represent  the  rela- 
tions to  a  dialectal  form  D  of  the  diatheses  AiA2An  of 
the  various  members  of  a  dialectal  unit;  of  the  average 
utterance  of  each  member,  Ui  C/"2  Un ;  and  of  the  momen- 
tary utterances  of  three  such  members,  namely, 
and  M' 


Now,  if  AI  =  A2  =  AB, 

then     ul  =  u2  =  un  —  u\  =  u'%  =  u'n  =  u\  =  w£  =  w|J; 

also  Z7i=Z7a==0;; 

also  Ul=U^:=Un  =  D. 

And  because  U\  =  %,  therefore  D  also  =  wx. 

Or,  in  other  words,  any  momentary  utterance  (u)  of 

107 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

any  member  of  a  dialectal  unit  may  be  taken  as  a  type 
of  the  dialectal  utterance.  And  because  any  u  is  a 
concrete,  perceptual  entity,  all  dialectal  utterances  are 
concrete,  perceptual  entities. 

This  reasoning  is  again  in  full  agreement  with  the 
observation  of  Rousselot:1  "L'element  re"flcchi  d'un 
patois  ne  varie  guere  dans  un  meme  village.  L'on  peut 
done  admettre,  que  sur  ce  point  le  te'moignage  d'un 
seul  vaut  pour  tous." 

We  may,  therefore,  now  define  thus:  A  dialect  is 
the  sum  of  all  dialectal  utterances.  A  dialectal  utter- 
ance is  the  type  of  the  average  (typical)  utterances  of 
the  members  of  a  dialectal  unit.  This  average  utter- 
ance is  subjectively  equal  to  any  one  momentary  utter- 
ance. The  type  referred  to  is  therefore  concrete,  and 
any  one  momentary  utterance  of  a  member  of  a  dialectal 
group  may  be  taken  as  representing  a  dialectal  utter- 
ance. A  dialectal  unit  is  constituted  by  the  speech  of 
all  those  persons  in  whose  utterances  variations  are  not 
sensibly  perceived  or  attended  to.  Subjective  uni- 
formity 2  makes  the  dialect.  A  dialectal  unit,  especially 
at  first,  may  coincide  with  an  ethnological  unit,  but  such 
coincidences  grow  rarer  as  development  continues. 

There  finally  remains  to  be  examined  the  term  "  per- 
ceptible variation,"  which  has  been  used  throughout, 
and  which  we  have  found  to  be  the  one  criterion  accord- 
ing to  which  a  dialectal  group  must  be  determined. 

1  Modifications,  p.  162,  with  the  restriction  that  "  quand  il  s'agit  de 
1'element  qui  est  encore  flottant  et  de  faits  qui  sont  soumis  a  tine  evolution 
actuelle,  un  temoignage  isole  ne  peut  avoir  de  portee  gene'rale." 

2  "  Subjectively  uniform  "  here  corresponds  to  Paul's  "  im  wesentlichen 
einheitlich"  (Principien,  §  22,  line  3,  p.  35)  and  "  wesentlich  gleichmiissig  " 
(§  23,  line  5,  p.  37).     But  Paul  does  not  clearly  distinguish  between  ob- 
jective and  subjective  observation,  nor  between  the  static  and  dynamic 
aspect  and  the  different  systems  of  classification  based  upon  them. 

108 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

The  more  exactly  we  can,  therefore,  draw  the  line  be- 
tween those  variations  which  are  subjectively  perceived 
and  those  which  are  not  so  perceived,  the  more  sharply 
shall  we  be  able  to  distinguish  what  lies  within  a  dialec- 
tal group  from  that  which  lies  without. 

There  appears  to  be  but  one  method  of  ascertaining 
whether  two  utterances  are  subjectively  felt  to  agree  or 
to  differ,  and  that  is  to  take  the  testimony  of  the  per- 
sons whose  sensations  form  the  subject  of  our  inquiry. 
There  is  indeed  no  other  way  of  determining  a  dialectal 
group  than  to  take  the  testimony  of  the  men  who  are  to 
compose  it.  For  the  very  reason  that  the  concept  of  a 
dialect  is  formed  wholly  on  a  subjective  basis,  all  objec- 
tive tests  are  barred  out.  As  Storm 1  has  well  expressed 
it,  "  not  absolute  differences  are  here  at  issue,  but  per- 
ceived differences,  for  only  what  is  perceived  is  of  im- 
portance for  the  spoken  language.  .  .  .  Whatever  is  not 
noticed  by  the  natives  themselves  may  be  disregarded." 

The  question  whether  the  inhabitants  of  two  villages, 
A  and  B,  belong  to  the  same  dialectal  group  can  only 
be  answered  on  the  testimony  of  the  villagers  as  to 
whether  they  believe  they  speak  alike.  They  are  the 
court  of  last  resort,  from  which  there  is  no  appeal.  And 
occasionally  a  nickname  or  a  jest  will  be  prima  facie 
evidence  of  the  fact  that  the  villagers  of  A  clearly  feel 
the  difference  of  their  speech  from  that  of  B.  So  in 
the  well-known  biblical  passages,  Judges  xii.  6  and 
Matthew  xxvi.  73,  and  in  the  American  parallel  to 
the  Hebrew  shiboleth  test  which  De  Vere  relates  as 
having  happened  during  the  troubles  in  Kansas:  "A 
ferryman  placed  a  cow  at  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  on 
the  arrival  of  a  customer  was  wont  to  inquire  '  whether 
he  saw  that  thar  brute  and  what  he  mought  call  her? ' 

i  Engl.  Philol.  (2d  ed.),  I,  p.  17. 
109 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

If  the  applicant '  reckoned  '  it  was  a  '  cow '  he  could  go 
on  his  way  rejoicing,  but  if  (betraying  his  New  Eng- 
land origin)  he  should  '  guess '  it  to  be  a  '  keow, '  he 
must  needs  seek  some  other  crossing  place."1 

Upon  such  basis  the  points  vy  and  vx  in  the  diagram 
on  p.  104  must  be  fixed.  Whatever  lies  between  them  is 
intra-dialectal ;  what  lies  outside  is  extra-dialectal. 
These  extra-dialectal  variations  (between  vl  and  vv  and 
between  vx  and  vn)  have  this  in  common,  that  they  are 
always  sensibly  perceived ;  they  differ  in  the  degree  in 
which  they  affect  the  ease  and  clearness  with  which  a 
given  word  may  be  understood.  For,  as  conveyance  of 
ideas  is  the  chief  aim  of  language,  everything  which 
stands  in  the  way  of  an  utterance  being  understood  is  of 
the  greatest  moment.  But  it  is  plain  that  the  nearer 
the  centre  a  perceptible  variation  lies,  the  more  easily 
will  the  utterance  containing  it  be  understood ;  the  far- 
ther away  from  the  centre  it  lies,  the  more  will  it  inter- 
fere with  the  understanding  of  the  utterance,  until  it 
absolutely  prevents  the  utterance  from  being  under- 
stood. 

12  If  we  now  continue  our  classification  of  speech  along 
the  same  lines  which  led  to  the  formation  of  the  concept 
of  a  dialect,  we  may  proceed  to  unite  two  or  more  dia- 

1  For  the  naive  recognition  of  dialectal  peculiarities  cf.  Darmesteter  and 
Hatzfeld,  Le  Seizieme  Siecle  (4th  ed.,  1889),  p.  203,  note  (those  who  pro- 
nounced ou  for  o,  as  chouse  for  chose,  were  nicknamed  Ouistes) ;  Horning, 
Zt.  f.  roman.  Philol.,  XVIII  (1893),  p.  169,  note  1,  with  the  quotation  from 
C.  This  (Deut.  Litteratur  Zeit.,  1888,  col.  1220) ;  Wechssler,  Forschungen 
zur  Roman.  Philol.  Festg.  f.  Suchier  (1900),  p.  377,  note,  who  refers  to  C. 
Haag,  Die  Mundarten  d.  oberen  Neckar  u.  Donaulandes  (Programm, 
Reutlingen,  1898),  p.  109 f.;  Victor,  Elemente  d.  Phonetik  (3d  ed.,  1894), 
p.  165,  §  76,  note  2.  A  similar  verse  (min  vater  snarrt,  min  mutter 
snarrt,  ik  rede  grade  rut)  is  current  in  Tangermiinde  to  ridicule  the  rolled 
"  r."  Cf .  also  Heidenheim,  Verhandl.  d.  Versamml.  deut.  Phil.,  etc.  z. 
Zurich  (1887),  p.  149,  011  rabbinical  ridicule  of  Samaritan  pronunciation. 

110 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

lects  into  a  dialect-family ;  two  or  more  dialect-families 
into  a  language;  and  two  or  more  languages  into  a 
language-family.  But  whereas  a  dialect-form,  as  we 
have  seen,  is  a  concrete  type  and  hence  a  perceptual 
entity,  the  speech -forms  of  the  types  enumerated  here 
are  ideal  types  and  have  no  perceptual  existence.  No 
one  concrete  utterance  belonging  to  any  of  these  three 
classes  may,  as  in  the  case  of  a  dialect,  be  taken  as  a  con- 
crete type,  because  in  all  such  concrete  utterances  one 
or  more  variable  elements  perceptibly  vary.  The  typi- 
cal utterance  is  here  similar  to  all  concrete  utterances, 
but  identical  with  none.  Remove  the  perceptible  varia- 
tion,1 and  these  classes  revert  into  the  dialect  whose  dis- 
tinguishing mark  is  the  imperceptible  variation  of  its 
variables.  The  whole  may  be  illustrated  by  the  follow- 
ing diagram,  in  which  the  classes  are  represented  as 
(logical)  functions  of  a  series  of  constant  (Latin  letters) 
and  variable  (Greek  letters)  elements.  The  variable 
elements  whose  variations  are  not  subjectively  perceived 
are  enclosed  in  brackets. 

VARIABLE  ELEMENTS. 


CONSTAHT    Variations  Variations 
ELEMENTS,    perceived,  not  perceived. 

1.  Momentary  Utterances 

of  a  member  of  a  dia- 
lectal unit,  «    =  F  (q  r  s  t     abc  [d]     [e]) 

2.  Average  Utterance  of  a 

member  of  a  dialectal 

unit,  U  =  F  (q  r  s  t      abc  [d]     [e]) 

3.  A  Dialect,  D  =  F  (q  r  s  t      abc  [8]      [«]) 

4.  A  Dialect-family,  Df=F(qrst     a  b  y  [8]      [t  ]) 

5.  A  particular  Language,  L  =  F  (q  r  s  t      a  ft  y  [8]      [«]) 

6.  A  language-family,         Lf  =  F  (q  r  s  t      a  /3  y  [S]      [«]) 

1  Perceptibility  is  the  "  gewisse  Maass  "  of  Paul  (p.  22,  middle),  which 
variations  must  reach  in  order  to  result  in  "  Dialectspaltung." 

Ill 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

If  our  reasoning  so  far  be  correct,  it  is  apparent  that 
even  on  subjective  examination  an  insurmountable  bar 
separates  language-forms  from  dialect-forms,  for  the 
latter,  being  subjectively  identical  with  the  momentary 
utterance  of  a  definite  person,  are  perceptual  objects, 
while  the  former  are  abstractions,  purely  classificatory 
devices.  A  sentence  like  "w  vola  dlr  k  ko  n  o  pa  de  lu  " 
represents  (according  to  Rousellot's  transcription)  what 
every  member  of  the  dialectal  community  of  Cellefrouin 
says  when  he  wants  to  express  the  idea  that  "some 
would  say  that  there  are  no  wolves."  But  could  any 
one  give  the  "French  "  sounds  standing  for  this  idea? 
I  do  not,  of  course,  use  "  French  "  here  in  the  sense  of 
the  artificial,  literary  standard  of  the  High  Parisian 
French.  For  we  use  the  term  "language"  not  infre- 
quently for  the  ruling,  literary  dialect,  as  when  we  mean 
by  Greek  the  literary  Attic  dialect.  If  the  term  "  French 
language  "  is  taken,  not  in  this  latter  restricted  mean- 
ing, but  in  the  sense  of  a  class  name  in  which  we  have 
used  it  here  throughout,  then  no  "  French  "  combination 
of  sounds  can  be  given  which  will  stand  for  this  idea. 
We  may  well  enough  say  of  a  given  form  like  "  void  " 
that  it  is  French,  just  as  we  may  say  of  a  definite  bull- 
finch that  it  is  a  bird,  for  in  both  cases  we  simply  mean 
that  the  form  "  vola  "  and  the  particular  bullfinch  are 
members  respectively  of  a  large  group  of  individuals, 
which,  for  convenience'  sake,  we  have  accustomed  our- 
selves to  group  together  on  account  of  certain  resem- 
blances exhibited  by  all  members.  But  as  little  as  we  can 
see  a  bird,  just  so  little  can  we  hear  a  language-form. 
13  Two  main  objections  can  be  made  against  the  classifi- 
cation of  forms  into  dialectal  groups,  as  outlined  above, 
the  one  on  the  score  of  exactness,  the  other  on  that  of 
arbitrariness. 

112 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

The  first  charge,  if  the  term  "  inexactness  "  is  used  in 
a  derogatory  sense,  is  not  well  founded ;  it  implies  that 
all  observation  ought  to  be  objective.  In  reality  the 
subjective  method  is  the  only  one  by  which  we  can  learn 
how  things  impress  us,  and  it  is  therefore  entitled  to  a 
place  alongside  of  the  former.  The  difference  between 
the  two  is,  in  truth,  not  so  much  a  matter  of  "exact- 
ness "  and  lack  of  it,  as  of  stability  and  variability  of  the 
results  obtained,  the  unvarying  results  of  the  objective 
method  being  due  to  the  fact  that  the  apparatus  by 
which  they  are  reached  is  always  the  same,  while  in  all 
subjective  observations  the  apparatus  varies  according  to 
person  and  time.  If  we  reject  the  subjective  method 
and  use  objective  tests,  then  only  the  single  momen- 
tary utterance  of  each  separate  individual  can  lay  claim 
to  concrete  existence.  For  the  keener  objective  test  re- 
veals variations  and  differences  which  had  remained 
hidden  to  the  subjective  observer.  In  this  case,  it  is  not 
sufficient  to  assume  with  Paul 1  "  as  many  languages  as 
there  are  individuals,"  for  this  "language  of  the  indi- 
vidual "  is  again  merely  an  abstraction  based  upon  each 
individual's  momentary  utterances.  If,  then,  for  the 
subjective  examiner  the  dialectal  form  is  the  highest 
perceptual  (concrete)  entity,  while  the  objective  examiner 
cannot  rise  above  the  momentary  utterance  of  the  indi- 
vidual without  passing  from  the  concrete  to  the  abstract, 
it  finally  behooves  us  to  determine  if  such  higher  classi- 
fications as  "dialect-family,"  "language,"  rest  upon  a 

1  When  he  says  (p.  35,  §  22),  "  Wir  miissen  eigentlich  so  viele  Sprachen 
unterscheiden  als  es  Individuen  giebt,"  it  would  appear  as  if  he  regarded 
the  objective  tests  as  the  only  permissible  ones,  and  the  subjective  ones  as 
"  improper,"  while  in  truth  neither  is  more  proper  or  yields  truer  results 
than  the  other,  nor  has  a  dialect-form,  subjectively  tested,  any  less  per- 
ceptual existence  (what  Paul  calls  "reale  Existenz  ")  than  the  form  of  a 
momentary  utterance  tested  objectively. 
8  113 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

wholly  arbitrary  basis.1  This  was  the  main  point  at 
issue  in  the  controversy  (admirably  summarized  by 
Horning)  which  followed  Ascoli's  Schizzi  franco- 
provenzali  (1875),  in  which  he  tried  to  establish  a 
franco-provengal  dialect-family. 

It  must  be  admitted  at  once  that  no  proper  classifica- 
tion of  dialect-families  or  languages  is  possible  until  the 
single  phonetic,  lexicographical,  and  syntactic  peculiari- 
ties of  a  whole  speech  area  (e.  #.,  the  whole  of  France) 
have  been  geographically  traced.  Specimens  on  a  large 
scale  of  such  a  "geographic  des  traits  linguistiques 
isoleV'  are  G.  Wenker's  Sprachatlas  des  deutschen 
Reiches  and  Gillie'ron's  similar  recent  work  for  France.2 

Is  any  further  grouping  purely  arbitrary,  as  Meyer 
asserted  with  G.  Paris,  "un  travail  a  peu  pres  com- 
pletement  perdu  "  ?  The  answer  will  be  clearer  if  we 
distinguish  between  those  classifications  which  take  no 
cognizance  of  history,  but  confine  themselves  exclusively 
to  the  status  praesens,  and  those  which  are  able  to 
introduce  the  historical  element.  Even  if  for  the 
moment  we  view  classification  as  a  wholly  static  problem 
(leaving  the  historical  aspect  aside),  the  question  cannot 
be  answered  in  the  affirmative.  True,  in  all  descrip- 
tive classification  the  choice  of  the  variable  element 
which  is  to  form  its  basis  is  free,  but  only  relatively  so. 
To  make  the  classification  serviceable  the  basic  variable 
should  be  of  such  character  that  its  variations  go  par- 
allel with  the  variations  of  the  other  variable  qualities, 
because  thus  the  variations  of  the  basic  variable  are  indi- 
cations of  the  variations  of  the  whole.  The  choice  of  the 
distinctive  features  of  a  dialect-family  is,  therefore,  not 
wholly  arbitrary,  and  Ascoli  is  quite  right  when  he 

1  Paul's  Principien,  p.  35-36. 

2  J.  Gillieron  and  E.  Edmout,  Atlas  linguistique  de  la  France  (1901). 

114 


says:  "il  distintivo  dal  determinato  tipo  sta  appunto 
nella  simultanea  presenza  o  nella  particolar  combinazione 
di  quei  caratteri."  Nor  can,  even  for  a  purely  descrip- 
tive classification,  the  same  value  be  assigned  alike  to 
all  characteristics.  Reference  has  already  been  made  in 
a  previous  lecture  to  the  principle  of  subordination  of 
qualities  which  Jussieu  introduced  into  the  natural 
sciences,  of  which  the  leading  idea  is  "  to  consider  cer- 
tain organs  and  certain  relations  between  organs  as  more 
important  than  others,  so  that  a  certain  relation  is 
prominent  enough  to  mark  a  'family,'  another  one  a 
*  genus,'  a  third  one  only  a  'species.'  "J  In  this  con- 
nection Kauffmann  2  has  emphasized  what  he  calls  "  con- 
stitutive factors,"  namely,  accent,  intonation,  quantity, 
as  of  paramount  importance  and  greater  value  than 
single  detached  sounds.  In  dealing  with  dialects  it 
is,  however,  often  possible  to  leave  this  purely  descrip- 
tive method  and  approach  to  a  certain  extent  the  ideal 
of  all  classification,  namely,  the  genetic  one,  which 
groups  objects  not  simply  according  to  outward  appear- 
ance, but  according  to  their  development.  In  doing  so, 
we  exchange  the  static  for  the  historical  aspect.  This 
historical  element  was  introduced  by  Groeber,3  and  has 
been  rightly  emphasized  by  Horning.  It  affects  our 
view  of  dialectal  characteristics  in  two  ways:  in  the 
first  place,4  the  different  characteristics  are  no  longer  on 

1  De  Candolle,  Introduction  a  1'etude  de  la  botanique  (1835),  p.  485. 

2  In  Kirchhoff's  Anleitung  zur  deutschen  Landes-  und  Volksforschung 
(1889),  p.  388,  quoted  by  Wechssler  in  Forschnngen  z.  rora.  Phil.  Festgabe 
f.  Suchier  (1900),  p.  524.     Already  Tourtoulon  had  noted  the  fact  that 
the  difference  of  the  Proven9al  paroxytone  accentuation  as  contrasted 
with  the  French  oxytone  accent  was  a  sufficiently  characteristic  mark,  cf. 
Horning,  Zt.  f.  rom.  Phil.,  XVII  (1893),  p.  170. 

8  Grundriss  d.  roman.  Philol.,  I,  p.  416. 
*  Horning,  Zt.  f.  rom.  Phil.,  XVII  (1893),  p.  184. 

115 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

the  same  plane,  but  stand  out  in  historical  perspective. 
In  the  second  place,1  the  concurrence  of  a  number  of 
characteristics  covering  approximately  the  same  area  is 
no  longer  due  to  chance,  but  historically  necessary,  be- 
cause they  occur  in  the  speech  of  individuals  who,  form- 
ing a  community,  spread  over  a  given  geographical  area. 
The  history  of  the  speakers  thus  becomes  important  for 
the  understanding  of  the  dialect.  The  results  of  the 
descriptive  classification  of  the  isolated  linguistic  facts 
can  then  be  corrected  by  combining  with  it  a  study  of 
the  history  of  the  people ;  for  France,  for  instance,  by 
an  investigation  in  the  method  and  history  of  the  Roman 
colonization  of  Gaul.  Where,  however,  such  indepen- 
dent historical  (political)  data  are  absent,  the  classifica- 
tion of  dialectic  traits,  while  not  absolutely  arbitrary, 
will  yet  exhibit  those  defects  which  characterize  all 
descriptive  classifications  (e.  g.,  Linnseus').  It  is  the 
absence  of  sufficient  historical  data  which  makes  a  sat- 
isfactory genetic  classification  of  the  Greek  dialects 
impossible,2  for  this  would  require  familiarity  with  the 
ethnic  movements  within  Greece  and  with  the  details  of 
migrations  and  colonizations.  This  ethnological  infor- 
mation, to  be  of  value,  must  be  independent,  that  is,  it 
must  not  itself  be  based  upon  linguistic  evidence ;  else 
we  are  reasoning  in  a  vicious  circle,  first  extracting  our 
ethnological  knowledge  from  the  facts  of  language,  and 
then  using  the  knowledge  so  obtained  to  explain  these 
same  facts. 

14  The  view  which  is  held  concerning  the  character  of 
dialect  and  language  determines  the  attitude  which  one 
will  take  toward  the  inferential  and  comparative  recon- 
struction of  prehistoric  parent  languages  upon  the  basis 

1  Horning,  1.  c.  p.  166. 

2  Brugmann's  Griech.  Graram.  (3d  ed.,  1900),  p.  14-15. 

116 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

of  historical  descendants.  This  idea,  as  has  been  stated 
before,  originated  with  Schleicher  and  has  been  at  the 
bottom  of  much  comparative  work  of  the  period  which 
was  ushered  in  by  Schleicher's  Compendium  (1861). 

To  be  sure,  the  parent  language  as  now  reconstructed 
looks  very  different  from  that  inferred  by  Schleicher. 

We  have  ceased  to  look  with  Schleicher  for  absolute 
simplicity  in  the  parent  language.  To  him  the  morpho- 
logical elements  of  a  word  were  then  still  intact,  for 
successive  vowels  and  consonants  had  not  yet  begun  to 
react  on  each  other.  The  diversity  and  manif oldness  in 
sounds  and  inflection  of  the  various  Indo-European 
idioms  as  they  appear  in  historical  times  are  to 
Schleicher  the  results  of  decay  and  degeneration.  This 
theory  was  gradually  abandoned  for  two  reasons. 

First,  because  such  an  a  priori  postulate  of  simplicity, 
if  accepted  at  all,  could  only  reasonably  be  made  for  the 
very  first  period  of  language  production.  But  this 
period  is  absolutely  beyond  our  reach  and  separated  by 
a  vast  gulf  from  the  periods  amenable  to  reconstruction. 

Second,  because  this  principle  conflicts  with  Schlei- 
cher's second  methodological  principle,  that  the  par- 
ent form  must  be  of  such  a  character  that  all  really 
existing  forms  of  the  Indo-European  languages  may  be 
derived  from  it  by  regular  laws.  The  more  consistently 
this  principle  has  been  applied  and  the  more  strictly 
phonetic  laws  have  been  interpreted,  the  more  has  sim- 
plicity given  way  to  complexity,  and  in  consequence  of 
it  the  parent  language  as  now  reconstructed  is,  in  many 
respects,  richer  than  any  of  its  descendants. 
15  An  inquiry  into  the  nature  and  character  of  the 
parent  language,  thus  reconstructed,  will  naturally  fall 
into  two  parts. 

First,  we  must  examine  the  various   limitations   to 

117 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

which    this    method   of    reconstruction    is  necessarily 
subject. 

Second,  we  must  determine  how  these  limitations 
affect  the  object  reconstructed  according  to  this  compar- 
ative method ;  whether,  namely,  they  imply  quantitative 
imperfections  only,  or  whether  their  influence  is  so  vital 
as  to  touch  upon  the  very  essence  and  quality  of  the 
reconstructed  object. 

16  The  first  difficulty,  which  was  early  recognized  and 
admitted,  is  that  we  must  base  our  reconstructions  on 
individual  forms  which  have  behind  them  a  most  un- 
equal stretch  of  independent  development.     A  Vedic 
form  is  separated  from  an  Albanian  form  by  at  least 
3000  years.     And  the  problem  is  in  reality  not  the 
reconstruction  of  the  parent  on  the  basis  of  descendants 
of  the  first  degree,  but  on  the  basis  of  an  aggregate  of 
descendants  of  very  different  degrees,  descendants  which 
have   undergone  an  independent  development  of  very- 
unequal    duration,    during    which   unknown    external 
forces  have  had  an  opportunity  of  variously  affecting 
them. 

For  this  reason  Schleicher  (1850)  held  that  while  all 
historical  Indo-European  languages  must  form  the  basis 
on  which  the  parent  language  is  to  be  constructed,  yet 
the  varying  degree  of  faithfulness  with  which  the 
different  languages  have  preserved  old  sounds  and  forms 
makes  those  languages  of  especial  importance  which  have 
remained  nearest  to  the  original  home  of  the  Indo- 
European  parent  people,  a  distinction  no  longer  appli- 
cable since  we  know  that  the  preservation  of  archaisms 
does  not  depend  on  geographical  distance. 

17  But,  compared  with  the  rest,  this  is  a  minor  difficulty. 
Much  more  serious  are  those  defects  which  result  from 
the  absence  of  all  chronological  data. 

118 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

Philology,  like  all  historical  sciences,  requires  an 
object  clearly  defined  in  time  and  in  space.  It  is  here 
that  we  find  the  comparative  method  most  seriously 
defective. 

The  chief  characteristic  of  all  modern  grammatical 
investigations  is  that  they  are  historical,  i.  e.,  that  they 
do  not  treat  a  language  as  if  it  were  fixed  and  immov- 
able, but  as  a  growth  whose  changing  phases  should  be 
outlined  in  a  connected  series  of  successive  periods. 
The  very  attempt  to  reconstruct  a  parent  language  is 
due  to  this  historical  treatment,  for  its  aim  is  simply 
to  extend  the  continuity  of  development  beyond  his- 
torical times. 

This  fact  was  strongly  emphasized  by  Johannes 
Schmidt1  (1872):  "As  soon  as  we  combine  a  larger  or 
smaller  number  of  '  parent-forms  '  and  think  to  have 
gained  thereby  a  definite  section,  however  small,  of  the 
parent  speech,  we  lose  all  firm  foundation  beneath  our 
feet.  For  these  '  parent-forms  '  may  have  originated  at 
entirely  different  times,  and  we  have  no  reason  what- 
ever to  assume  that  the  parent-form  A  was  still  un- 
changed when  B  arose,  or  that  C  and  D  arising  at  the 
same  period  remained  unchanged  for  the  same  length 
of  time.  When  we  therefore  attempt  to  write  a  con- 
nected sentence  in  the  '  Parent  Speech, '  it  may  easily 
happen  that  although  every  word  in  it  be  rightly  recon- 
structed, yet  the  sentence  as  a  whole  is  no  better  than 
the  translation  of  a  verse  of  the  gospels,  the  words  for 
which  have  been  taken  partly  from  Vulfilas'  translation, 
partly  from  that  which  goes  by  the  name  of  Tatian's, 
and  partly  from  Luther's."  Similarly  Brugmann  said 
in  the  first  edition  of  his  Grundriss  (1886)  : 2  "  When 

1  Die  Verwandtschaftsverhaltnisse,  etc.,  p.  30  f. 

2  Cf.  Grundriss,  I  (2d  ed.),  part  I,  p.  23-24. 

119 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

we  speak  of  Indo-European  forms  we  generally  mean 
those  forms  which  were  in  use  toward  the  close  of  the 
primitive  period.  But  we  also  often  mean  such  forms 
as  belonged  to  an  earlier  period  of  this  stage  and  which 
had  already  undergone  a  change  toward  its  termination. 
Forms  put  down  by  us  as  primitive  Indo-European  .  .  . 
are,  therefore,  not  to  be  indiscriminately  regarded  as 
belonging  to  the  same  period." 

The  essential  defect  is,  in  the  words  of  Schmidt,  the 
total  lack  of  historical  perspective.  All  reconstructed 
parent-forms  thus  appear  on  the  same  plane,  like  objects 
in  a  flat  drawing.  Since  then  "the  inferred  parent- 
forms,  when  taken  together,  do  not  yield  a  language 
which  was  ever  spoken  at  one  definite  point  of  time  by 
a  clearly  defined  linguistic  community,  but  as  these 
forms,  on  the  contrary,  belonged  to  different  times  and 
different  localities,  we  can  only  speak  of  an  Indo- 
European  Parent  Language  in  the  same  sense  in  which 
one  may  use  the  term  '  German  Language  '  with  refer- 
ence to  the  whole  course  of  its  development  throughout 
the  Christian  era  to  our  own  time,  including  all  dialec- 
tic variations  "  (Brugmann,  1897). 

The  result  of  this  absence  of  historical  perspective 
becomes  glaringly  apparent  if  we  imagine  an  English 
grammar  or  dictionary  constructed  according  to  a 
method  by  which  Anglo-Saxon,  Chaucerian,  and  nine- 
teenth-century forms  could  not  be  separated,  but  would 
all  stand  on  the  same  plane.  "Ein  buntschackiges 
Wesen,"  as  Niebuhr1  called  it  in  his  Letter  to  a  Young 
Philologian,  "welches  den  ordentlichen  Philologen 
ebenso  argert,  als  wenn  man  Deutsch  von  1650  und  1800 
unter  einander  mengt." 

1  K.  G.  Jacob's  "  B.  G.  Niebuhr's  Brief  an  einen  jungen  Philologen," 
p.  131. 

120 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

It  is  only  another  aspect  of  the  same  fundamental  diffi- 
culty that  we  are  unable  to  fix  accurately  the  time  and 
extent  of  operation  of  inferred  phonetic  laws.  Ignorant 
of  the  exact  time  during  which  they  were  operative  and 
of  the  relative  chronology  of  different  laws,  it  is  inevi- 
table that  we  must  be  constantly  committing  the 
gravest  anachronisms  in  our  reconstruction  of  Indo- 
European  forms,  combining  in  the  same  form  laws 
which  operated  at  entirely  different  periods.  As  early 
as  1869  Johannes  Schmidt  called  attention  to  this  dan- 
ger. In  the  preface  (p.  ix)  to  the  second  edition  of 
Schleicher's  Die  deutsche  Sprache  (revised  by  him  after 
Schleicher's  death)  he  says:  "The  forms  of  the  German 
parent  speech  I  have  left  as  Schleicher  wrote  them.  .  .  . 
It  was  of  no  importance  [and,  we  must  add,  it  would 
have  been  impossible]  to  reconstruct  here  the  words  in 
all  their  parts  just  as  they  actually  existed  at  some  one 
definite  prehistoric  point  of  time,  but  the  aim  was 
simply  to  restore  the  old  endings  for  the  better  under- 
standing of  their  later  forms.  Whether,  for  instance, 
the  gen.  plur.  dagdm  ever  existed  in  this  form,  or 
whether,  at  the  time  when  the  gen.  plur.  terminated  in 
-dm,  the  shifting  of  mutes  had  not  yet  taken  place  and 
the  form  was,  consequently,  dagh&m,  while  after  the 
shifting  of  mutes  the  real  form  was  dagci,  is  immaterial 
for  the  purposes  of  this  book.  In  this  respect  all  forms 
of  the  German  parent  speech  are  merely  hypothetical.  '  ' 

If  we  were  to  adopt  this  method  in  the  reconstruction 
of  an  English  word,  we  should  run  the  risk  of  joining 
to  a  Chaucerian  stem  an  Anglo-Saxon  prefix  and  a 
nineteenth-century  suffix,  begetting  a  monster  not  un- 
like the  Chimaera,  TrpdaOe  XeW,  oTriOev  Be  Spatcajv,  pea-err) 


18     To  these  chronological  difficulties  which  may  lead  us 

121 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

on  the  one  hand  to  assign  two  words  to  the  same  pre- 
literary  period,  though  in  reality  one  may  have  disap- 
peared long  before  the  other  came  into  use,  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  unite  in  the  same  word  phonetic  changes 
which  belong  to  entirely  different  periods,  must  be  added 
a  third,  the  seriousness  of  which  is  often  overlooked, 
namely,  that  the  antiquity  of  a  sound  change  cannot  be 
measured  by  the  uniformity  with  which  the  individual 
languages  present  it.  The  fault  of  inferring  antiquity 
from  the  universality  of  a  sound  change  or  form  or 
meaning  was  clearly  pointed  out  by  Paul  (1880) : 1  "  Even 
after  a  linguistic  area  has  become  dialectically  differen- 
tiated, certain  changes  may  well  permeate  the  whole 
area.  ...  It  is  too  much  the  habit  to  consider  all 
changes  which  are  common  to  the  whole  linguistic  area 
as  for  that  reason  older  than  those  which  are  confined  to 
some  parts  of  this  area.  ...  It  cannot  be  denied  that 
the  greater  extent  of  a  given  phenomenon  makes  its 
greater  antiquity  probable,  but  it  furnishes  no  definite 
proof  at  all.  There  will  be  cases  ...  in  which  a 
widely  spread  change  is  later  than  a  change  confined 
to  a  small  territory."  Bremer,  in  his  suggestive  arti- 
cle on  "Relative  Sprachchronologie  "  (1894),2  illustrated 
this  by  the  concrete  example  of  a  phonetic  change  con- 
fined to  the  Anglo-Frisian,  for  which,  on  direct  evi- 
dence, greater  antiquity  may  be  claimed  than  for  certain 
changes  which  are  common  to  all  Germanic  dialects. 
These  considerations  have  led  Kretschmer 8  to  contrast 
and  distinguish  very  sharply  between  "gemeinindo- 
germanisch"  (i.  e.,  common  to  all  historical  Indo-Euro- 
pean languages)  and  "  altindogermanisch  "  (i.  e.,  belong- 

1  Principien  (1st  ed.),  p.  238  =  (2d  and  3d  ed.),  p.  41. 

2  Indogerm.  Forsch.,  IV,  p.  1. 

8  Einleitung  in  die  Geschichte  d.  Griech.  Sprache  (1896),  p.  12  ff. 
122 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

ing  to  the  prehistoric,  Indo-European  parent  language), 
a  distinction  which  is  also  made  by  Brugmann  in  the 
second  edition  of  the  Grundriss  (1897). l  In  fact  this 
acceptance  of  universality  as  a  proof  of  antiquity  is  a 
corollary  of  the  linear  theory  of  the  disintegration  of 
the  Indo-European  primitive  stock,  which  pictures  its 
growth  in  the  form  of  a  genealogical  tree.  It  stands  and 
falls  with  this  theory,  which  was  elaborated  by  Schleicher. 

To  Schleicher  the  Indo-European  parent  people  was 
a  nation  limited  in  numbers,  inhabiting  a  comparatively 
small  area  somewhere  in  Asia,  whence  issued  forth, 
from  time  to  time,  migratory  expeditions  which  settled 
down  in  new  homes  more  or  less  removed  from  the  old 
parent  stock,  and,  breaking  intercourse  with  it,  started 
on  a  line  of  independent  development. 

The  bifurcating  lines  in  the  picture  of  Schleicher's 
genealogical  tree  "really  denote,"  as  Leskien2  has  well 
put  it,  "the  routes  of  migration  of  the  assumed  groups 
and  tribes,  routes  which  cannot  at  present  and  perhaps 
can  never  be  fixed  with  greater  geographical  accuracy; 
the  starting  point  of  the  whole  system  of  lines  is  the 
original  seat  of  the  Indo-European  Parent  People.  The 
whole  theory  rests,  therefore,  upon  the  assumption  that 
in  the  history  of  the  Indo-European  nations  a  certain 
number  of  migrations  have  taken  place  which  involved 
so  complete  geographical  separations  as  to  destroy  all 
former  linguistic  and  ethnical  intercourse."  In  contrast 
to  this  Schuchardt 3  had  pointed  out,  in  1868  and  several 

1  Vol.  I.,  Part  I,  p.  28-29. 

2  Die  Declination  im  Slavisch-Litauischen,  etc.,  p.  vii  f. 

8  Vokalisraus  des  Vulgarlateins,  III  (1868),  p.  32-34  (addendum  to 
vol.  I  [1866],  p.  83);  also  in  his  inaugural  lecture  at  the  University  of 
Leipzig,  April  30,  1870,  "  tiber  die  Klassifikation  der  Romanischen 
Mundarten"  (reprinted — unfortunately  for  private  circulation  only  — 
in  1900),  and  in  Romania,  III,  p.  9,  note. 

123 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

times  thereafter,  that  the  Romance  languages  cannot 
satisfactorily  be  derived  from  the  Latin  in  this  manner, 
and  we  find  in  him  for  the  first  time  the  comparison  of 
the  spread  of  linguistic  changes  with  the  concentric 
wave-circles  which  proceed  from  the  spot  where  a  pebble 
has  been  thrown  into  the  water.  A  few  .years  later  and 
independently  the  theory  of  gradual  dialectal  disintegra- 
tion of  the  Indo-European  parent  language  was  advanced 
by  Johannes  Schmidt  at  the  twenty-eighth  meeting  of 
German  philologists. 1  The  Slavo-lettic  family,  he  pointed 
out,  is  united  on  the  one  hand  with  the  Teutonic  branch, 
on  the  other  with  the  Indo-Iranian  languages ,  as  long 
as  one  adheres  to  Schleicher's  theory  of  ramification  it 
will  be  impossible  to  explain  satisfactorily  these  and 
similar  relations.  The  character  of  the  Slavo-lettic 
"  becomes  intelligible,  only  when  it  is  recognized  that  it 
must  be  separated  neither  from  the  Teutonic  nor  from 
the  Indo-Iranian,  but  that  it  forms  the  organic  connec- 
tion between  the  two."  In  a  like  manner  the  similari- 
ties of  other  Indo-European  languages  must  be  explained. 
They  are  the  traces  by  which  we  may  still  recognize 
former  contact.  They  are  easily  understood  if  we  as- 
sume gradual  dialectal  differentiation  with  "continual 
transitions  leading  from  one  language  to  the  other.  .  .  . 
Originally  there  were  no  sharp  dialectal  boundaries 
within  the  Indo-European  territory.'1  These  sharp 
boundaries  were,  according  to  Schmidt,  the  later  results 
of  an  elimination  of  the  intermediary  dialects,  by  which 
the  victorious  extremes  came  into  contact.  As  lan- 
guages are  not  independent  organisms,  but  are  insepa- 

1  Ueber  die  Theilung  d.  indogermanischen  Sprachstammes  in  enger 
verbundene  Einzelgruppen,  in  Verhandl.  d.  XXVIII.  Versam.  deut. 
Philol.  etc.  zu  Leipzig  (1873),  p.  220.  Cf.  also  Die  Verwandtschaftsver- 
haltnisse  der  indogermanischen  Sprachen  (1872)  and  Zur  Geschichte  d. 
indogerm.  Vokalismus,  II  (1875),  p.  192. 

124 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

rably  connected l  with  the  history  of  those  who  speak 
them,  neither  Schleicher's  nor  Schmidt's  theory  is 
purely  linguistic,  but  they  rest  upon  certain  ethnological 
assumptions.  We  saw  above  that  Schleicher's  theory 
presupposes  extensive  migrations  by  which  parts  of  the 
parent  stock  are  torn  from  it,  in  such  a  way  that  inter- 
course between  them  ceases.  There  can  be  little  doubt 
that  here,  as  elsewhere,  Schleicher  was  influenced  by 
biological  considerations.  A  language  was  to  him  an 
individual,  like  an  animal ;  the  propagation  of  the  for- 
mer was  to  him  similar  to  that  of  the  latter.  Hence  he 
speaks  of  mother-languages  and  daughter-languages. 
His  whole  theory  of  ramification  repeats  the  genealogical 
tree  of  a  human  family.  As  by  the  process  of  birth  the 
child  through  a  physiological  separation  from  the  mother 
becomes  an  independent  individual,  so  a  language  is 
born  and  becomes  an  independent  individual  by  the 
geographical  separation  of  its  speakers  from  the  parent 
stock.  The  fundamental  error  is  that  biological  views 
and  terms  are  transferred  without  change  to  social  facts, 
to  the  great  detriment  of  the  proper  valuation  and  under- 
standing of  these  latter. 

The  ethnological  basis  for  Schmidt's  theory,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  gradual  expansion,  by  which  one  periph- 
eral belt  was  added  to  another,  as  time  passed  and 
numbers  increased.  Instead  of  a  series  of  sudden  inter- 
ruptions of  intercourse  between  certain  members,  we 
have  here  a  constant  communication  of  the  members  of 
the  outer  and  the  inner  belts,  though  varying  in  the 
degree  of  intensity.  Proportional  to  this  latter  must 
have  been  the  similarity  of  speech. 

The  effect  of  this  continual  interdependence,  which 

1  The  intimate  connection  of  linguistic  and  ethnological  theory  is  em- 
phasized by  Leskien,  Die  Declination,  etc.,  p.  ix. 

125 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

thus  takes  the  place  of  Schleicher's  independence,  is  a 
slow  dissemination  over  an  ever-increasing  area  of  what- 
ever developments  in  language  or  institutions  or  art  or 
manufacture  may  arise  in  any  one  locality. 

It  is  the  task  of  the  ethnologist  and  geographer  to 
investigate  such  theories  in  detail,1  and  to  assign  to  each 
the  proper  place  which  it  may  have  played  in  locating 
the  Indo-Europeans  in  their  present  quarters.  As 
Leskien  pointed  out  in  1876,  Schleicher's  and  Schmidt's 
theories  do  not  exclude  one  another.  Nor  are  all 
possibilities  exhausted  by  them.  For  besides  the  inde- 
pendent linguistic  development  which  is  the  result  of 
separation  (Schleicher),  and  the  slow  dialectal  differen- 
tiation which  is  due  to  gradual  expansion  and  conse- 
quent variation  of  the  intensity  of  intercourse  (Schmidt), 
we  must  also  reckon  with  the  possibility  of  peripheral 
assimilation  of  two  dialects  which,  by  enlarging  their 
respective  territories,  come  into  contact  (an  important 
factor,  as  Groeber  showed,  in  the  development  of  the 
Romance  dialects),  and  finally  with  the  effects  of  con- 
tact and  mixture  with  foreign  tribes,  which  undoubtedly 
played  a  very  important  part  in  influencing  the  Indo- 
European  idioms.  Here,  however,  where  we  deal  with 
the  possibility  of  reconstructing  an  Indo-European 
parent  language,  there  is  no  need  to  enter  upon  these 
questions.  It  is  sufficient  for  our  purpose  if  it  be  ad- 
mitted that  Schmidt's  theory  of  gradual  expansion  and 
varying  intensity  of  intercourse  held  good  for  that  early 
period  of  prehistoric  Indo-European  history  which  alone 
we  can  reach  by  reconstruction.  For  as  soon  as  we 

1  Ethnological  discussion  of  the  prohlem  in  Vodskov's  Sjaeledyrkelse 
og  Naturdyrkelse,  I  (1890),  analyzed  at  length  in  Indogerm.  Forschung., 
Anzeiger.,  Ill,  p.  Ill,  and  by  Ratzel  in  Sitz.  Ber.  d.  k.  sachs.  Ges.  d.  Wiss. 
(1898),  p.  1-75. 

126 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

substitute  this  theory  of  gradual  expansion  for  that  of 
disintegration,  we  can  no  longer  contrast  the  parent 
stock  with  the  individual  members,  as  Schleicher  does. 
Instead  of  a  parent  stock  which  is  broken  up  into  a 
number  of  smaller  units  which,  stopping  their  inter- 
course with  the  main  body,  start  on  a  new  and  indepen- 
dent course  of  development,  we  must  posit  a  nucleus 
which  develops  proportionately  with  the  outer  belts, 
which  continually  reacts  on  them,  as  they  react  on 
it,  which,  in  a  word,  is  ever  changing. 
19  The  essential  point  for  us  is  that  we  cannot  speak  of 
a  primitive  homogeneous  parent  speech.  As  early  as 
1872,  Johannes  Schmidt  wrote :  "  That  a  homogeneous 
Indo-European  parent  language  once  existed  is  highly 
probable ;  it  would  be  certain  if  it  could  be  proved  that 
the  human  race  had  its  beginning  in  a  few  individuals. 
The  burden  of  this  proof  falls  upon  others ;  for  the  time 
being,  we  must  be  satisfied  that  comparative  grammar 
with  its  present  apparatus  has  failed  to  penetrate  to  so 
remote  a  period ;  in  many  cases  we  must  assume  even 
for  the  prehistoric  period  dialectal  variations  which  can- 
not be  further  reduced."  With  this  view  Brugmann 
agreed  in  the  introduction  to  the  first  edition  of  his 
Grundriss :  "  It  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  a  language 
[like  the  Indo-European]  should  have  gone  through  a 
long  course  of  development  and  be  spoken  by  a  people 
of  any  considerable  number  without  a  certain  amount  of 
dialectic  variations,  and  hence  we  cannot  look  upon  the 
speech  of  the  Indo-Europeans,  even  while  they  still 
occupied  a  comparatively  small  territory  and  maintained 
a  fairly  close  degree  of  intercourse  with  one  another,  as 
bearing,  in  any  strict  sense,  a  uniform  character.  Local 
differences  had,  no  doubt,  already  arisen.  .  .  .  We 
may  take  it  for  granted  that  the  differentiation  of  dia- 

127 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

lects  about  the  year  2000  B.  C.  had  gone  so  far  that  a 
number  of  communities  existed  side  by  side  which  could 
no  longer  or  only  with  difficulty  understand  each  other." 
The  bearing  of  this  upon  any  attempt  at  reconstruction 
did  not  escape  Schmidt:  "The  parent  language  as  a 
whole  remains,  then,  a  scientific  fiction.  This  fiction 
may  facilitate  investigation,  but  what  we  may  term 
to-day  the  Indo-European  parent  tongue  is  not  a  his- 
torical object."  Similarly  Bremer  (1894)  remarked: 
"Within  every  parent  language  there  existed  at  all 
times  dialectic  variations.  I  do  not  believe  that  we 
shall  ever  succeed  in  reconstructing  the  posited  Indo- 
European  parent  language  in  its  main  features.  We 
shall  have  to  content  ourselves  with  the  reconstruction 
of  the  dialectically  differentiated  components." 

In  1896  Kretschmer,  and  in  1897  the  writer,1  again 
called  attention  to  this  fatal  defect,  a  defect  which  affects 
the  reconstruction  of  a  parent  speech  not  only  quantita- 
tively but  qualitatively.  For  as  the  term  "  Indo-Euro- 
pean "  language  can  plainly  not  be  used  in  the  sense  of 
"literary  "  language  or  ruling  dialect  (for  such  is  the  end, 
not  the  beginning,  of  linguistic  evolution),  it  can  only 
be  employed  in  the  other  sense,  namely,  as  a  classifica- 
tory  device,  a  generic  abstraction.  In  this  case,  as  we 
have  seen  above,  language  forms  are  nothing  but  ideal 
types,  for  which  no  perceptual  reality  can  be  claimed. 
The  whole  operation  of  reconstruction  of  parent  forms 
is  a  logical,  not  a  historical  one ;  it  is,  in  fact,  no  recon- 
struction at  all,  but  a  construction.  Only  when  we 
have  been  able  to  observe  an  object  during  its  period  of 
evolution  are  we  able  to  reconstruct  by  retracing  the 

1  My  paper  (Am.  Jour.  Philol.,  XV III.,  p.  416),  which  was  written 
early  in  1896,  was  printed  before  I  had  read  Kretschmer's  exposition, 
with  which  I  fully  agree. 

128 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

course  of  development,  for  of  the  three  quantities, 
(1)  primitive  form,  (2)  course  of  development,  and  (3) 
derived  form,  two  are  known.  In  the  construction  of 
parent  forms  by  the  comparative  method  neither  the 
primitive  form  is  known,  nor  is  it  possible  to  determine 
experimentally  the  course  of  development  from  this 
unknown  parent  form  to  the  later  known  form.  This 
course  also  is  not  given,  but  inferred.  We,  therefore, 
deal  here  with  two  unknown  quantities ;  and  this  makes 
very  problematic  any  identification  of  the  result  of 
such  a  construction  with  the  real  prehistoric  parent 
form.  More  or  less  of  similarity  there  may  be ;  but  real 
identity  would  be  a  mere  matter  of  chance,  obtained  in 
spite  of  the  method,  rather  than  through  it.  At  any  rate, 
cogent  proof  of  such  identity  must  always  be  lacking. 
20  These  considerations  make  it  clear  where  the  real 
value  of  comparative  reconstruction  lies.  For  it  would 
be  very  rash  to  deny  the  value  of  constructive  parent 
forms  because  perceptual  reality  cannot  be  claimed  for 
them.  Their  distinct  value  lies,  however,  as  indicated 
above,  in  the  fact  that  they  are  the  means  by  which  we 
classify  and  arrange  a  given  number  of  existing  forms. 
The  posited  Indo-European  gen-  signifies  that  Latin 
gen-,  Avestan  zan-,  Sanskrit  jan-,  etc.,  belong  together. 
To  claim  more  means  losing  one's  self  in  a  maze  of  spec- 
ulative possibilities.  So  it  is,  of  course,  perfectly  proper 
to  say  that  the  Indo-European  possessed  the  vowels  a,  e,  0, 
if  it  is  borne  in  mind  that,  in  doing  so,  we  simply  main- 
tain that  there  is  sufficient  evidence  to  show  that  all 
prehistoric  Indo-European  dialects  (which  form  the 
bases  of  the  historical  Indo-European  languages)  pos- 
sessed these  vowels  at  that  stage  of  their  development 
which  antedates  the  historical  epochs.  This  evidence, 
however,  is  not  sufficient  to  warrant  a  claim  that  these 
9  129 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

three  vowels  belonged  to  the  whole  prehistoric  period  of 
Indo-European  speech,  or  to  settle  the  question  as  to 
their  original  independence. 

The  sum  total  of  inferred  forms  does  not  give  us  a 
true  picture  of  any  language  ever  spoken;  nay,  even 
the  single  forms  cannot  lay  claim  to  being  representa- 
tives, true  in  every  detail,  of  words  ever  in  actual  use. 
Yet  it  is  only  by  reducing  the  results  of  our  investiga- 
tions to  such  formulae  that  they  become  convenient 
enough  to  be  easily  handled  and  permit  a  clear  arrange- 
ment of  the  facts  of  a  language.  It  is  a  significant  fact 
and  a  sign  of  clear  logic  that  Schleicher's  great  succes- 
sor, Brugmann,  in  the  Grundriss,  does  not  follow  his 
predecessor  in  placing  on  the  title-page  an  "  Indo-Euro- 
pean parent  language "  alongside  of  the  historical 
languages. 

There  are  certain  limitations  which  are  inherent  in, 
and  common  to,  all  historical  sciences.  Their  objects 
must  be  clearly  defined  in  space  and  in  time.  They  all 
start  where  tradition,  in  one  form  or  another,  begins. 
It  is  true  that  inferences  may  be  permitted  as  to  what 
lies  beyond  this  boundary  line  which  divides  the  historic 
from  the  prehistoric.  But  these  inferences  must  be  con- 
fined to  the  period  immediately  preceding  the  beginnings 
of  tradition.  The  farther  they  depart  from  it,  the  more 
shadowy,  general,  and  unreal  they  become,  because  the 
data  of  time  and  space  are  wanting,  and  without  these 
historical  investigation  becomes  impossible. 
21  It  is  not  the  task  of  linguistics  but  of  ethnology  to 
determine  the  limitations  within  which  the  data  of  lan- 
guage may  be  utilized  for  sociological,  mythological, 
and  political  inferences.  Within  certain  limits  valua- 
ble help  has  often  been  derived  from  them  where  archaeo- 
logical evidence  was  wanting,  and  long  before  Rask,  in 

130 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

1818,  laid  the  corner  stone  of  linguistic  paleontology,1 
the  Dorians,  as  Aristotle  2  tells  us,  rested  their  claim  of 
having  originated  both  tragedy  and  comedy  upon  the 
evidence  of  language  (TTOLOV^VOI,  ra  ovof^ara  a"rjfjielov); 
for  it  was  in  their  dialect  that  villages  were  called  tf<w/icu, 
and  their  word  for  "  to  do "  was  Spav,  whereas  the 
Athenians  used  Sfjpot  for  the  former  and  Trpdrreiv  for 
the  latter.  The  following  considerations,  however, 
counsel  great  care  in  such  undertakings  and  caution  in 
accepting  the  results.3 

In  the  first  place,  a  word  common  to  many  languages 
need  not,  on  that  account,  have  belonged  to  the  earliest 
periods.  It  may  owe  its  universality  to  borrowing. 
Even  Schleicher,  who  firmly  believed  in  a  homogeneous 
parent  people  and  held  that  "their  primitive  language 
could,  on  the  whole,  be  quite  fully  and  safely  recon- 
structed," wrote4  in  1863:  "The  possibility  of  borrow- 
ing must  never  be  lost  sight  of,  especially  where  the 
European  languages  are  concerned;  therefore  corre- 
spondences between  the  European  members  of  the  Indo- 
European  stock  cannot  always  be  taken  as  sure  and 
absolutely  reliable  proof."  We  have  seen  above  that 
not  even  the  existence  of  a  word  in  the  "  Slavo-German  " 
and  "  Indo-Iranian "  can  now  with  Schleicher  be  re- 
garded as  "a  sufficient  proof  for  the  originality  of  a 
given  word."  While  nonconformity  to  the  phonetic 

1  The  standard  work  is  Schrader's  Prehistoric  Antiquities  of  the  Aryan 
Peoples  (Engl.  transl.  1890)  and  his  Reallexicon  der  indogermanischen 
Altertumskunde  (1900-1). 

2  Poet.,  HI,  3. 

8  Cf.  the  weighty  objections  raised  by  Kretschmer,  Einleitung  in  die 
Gesch.  d.  griech.  Sprache  (1896,  chapters  ii  and  iii)  and  Kosiuna,  Zt.  d. 
Vereins  fur  Volksk.  VI,  1,  and  their  discussion  by  Schrader  in  the  preface 
to  his  Reallexicon  der  indogermanischen  Altertumskunde  (1900-1). 

*  Jahrbucher  f.  Nationals konomie  und  Statistik,  I,  p.  403-4. 

131 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

rules  of  a  language  is  a  sign  that  the  word  was  bor- 
rowed, it  is  not  conversely  true  that  conformity  to 
such  rules  precludes  borrowing,  which  may  have  taken 
place  long  before  a  particular  phonetic  change  set  in. 

Again  Schleicher  noted,  in  1863,  that  "  many  words 
may  have  been  lost  in  the  course  of  time,  many  may 
have  survived  in  a  single  language  only,  and  thus  make 
it  impossible  for  us  to  prove  that  they  are  original,"  so 
that  lack  of  universality  is  by  no  means  a  proof  that  a 
word  is  late,  and  we  cannot  follow  Justi1  (1862)  in 
assuming  that  "the  wounds  received  in  battle  and 
senile  debility  seem  to  have  been  the  only  diseases  by 
which  these  happy  folk  (the  primitive  Indo-Europeans) 
were  visited,"  simply  because  there  is  disagreement  in 
the  pathological  vocabulary  of  various  Indo-European 
nations. 

Finally,  word  and  thing  are  not  the  same.  This  is 
important  in  two  respects.  (1)  Whether  a  thing  shall 
be  named  or  remain  nameless  depends  on  the  interest 
which  the  speaker  takes  in  it.  Just  as  Mrs.  Dehio's 
daughter  correctly  distinguished  colors2  while  she  was 
not  able  to  name  them  correctly,  so  the  prehistoric  and 
historic  nations  may  be  poor  in  color  names  without 
failing  to  distinguish  color.  When  Cicero  (de  orat.,  II, 
4,  17),  from  the  lack  of  a  Greek  equivalent  for  the  Latin 
ineptus,  concludes  that  the  Greeks  lacked  an  apprecia- 
tion of  this  quality  ("itaque  quod  vim  huius  mali  Graeci 

1  Raumer's  Historisches  Taschenbuch.  Vierte  Folge.  Dritter  Jahrgang. 
(1862),  p.  323. 

2  Preyer  in  Zt.  f.  Psych,  u.  Phys.  der  Sinnesorgane,  XIV  (1896),  p.  323. 
Cf.  also  Quantz,  Psychol.   Rev.,  Monogr.  Supplem.,  vol.  II,  no.  1,  p.  17. 
"  Most  errors  are  made,  as  one  might  expect,  in  the  naming  of  colors. 
This  may,  to  some  extent,  be  accounted  for  on  the  supposition  that  some 
subjects,  especially  men,  misname  a  color  even  when  seeing  it  correctly."  v.  d. 
Steinen,  Unter  den  Naturvolkern  Zentral-Brasiliens  (1894),  p.  80. 

132 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

non  vident  ne  nomen  quidem  ei  vitio  imposuerunt.  Ut 
enim  quaeras  omnia  quomodo  Graeci  '  ineptum '  appel- 
lent,  non  reperies  "),  he  commits  a  frequent  error.  An 
inquiry  into  the  development  of  the  color  sense  upon  a 
linguistic  basis  alone  must  thus  be  futile.1  (2)  A  name 
is  not  inseparable  from  the  object  it  designates.  It  may 
be  transferred.  Cognate  terms,  therefore,  need  not 
necessarily  refer  to  the  same  thing,  as  is,  for  instance, 
the  case  in  </>?;709  and/ayus. 

For  these  reasons  Kosinna's  and  Kretschmer's  excep- 
tions to  the  methods  of  linguistic  paleontology  seem,  on 
the  whole,  well  taken.  As  was  pointed  out  above,  the 
comparative  method  is  designed  for  purposes  of  classifi- 
cation rather  than  of  reconstruction.  The  "  parent  lan- 
guage "  is  a  scaffolding  which  we  construct  with  our 
hands,  according  to  a  method  necessarily  defective.  It 
cannot  furnish  a  secure  basis  for  a  lofty  superstructure 
of  sociological  or  mythological  or  ethnological  inferences. 
Investigations  of  this  character,  which  are  beset  by 
enormous  difficulties,  even  when  carried  on  under  the 
most  favorable  conditions,  must  necessarily  see  their 
ends  defeated,  if  based  upon  material  so  unfit  because 
designed  for  entirely  different  purposes.  To  test  the 
efficiency  of  this  method,  let  one  reconstruct  the  out- 
lines of  ancient  Roman  society  and  religion  upon  the 
basis  of  the  Romance  languages,  and  compare  the  pic- 
ture with  reality. 

1  A.  Marty,  Die  Frage  nach  der  geschichtlichen  Entwickelung  des 
Farbensimies  (1879). 


133 


LECTURE  III 
CHANGES  IN  LANGUAGE 

I 

Imitative  and  Analogical  Changes 

1  IN  the  preceding  lecture  we  dealt  with  geographical 
speech  variations  belonging  to  the  same  period.  These 
differences  lead  to  the  formation  of  the  concept  of  dia- 
lect, an  attempt  at  classifying  them  as  subjectively  per- 
ceived. The  dynamic  problem  of  the  causes  to  which 
changes  in  language  are  due  will  be  our  next  topic, 
and  the  object  of  our  investigation  is  not  the  geograph- 
ical, contemporaneous  differences  in  language,  but  the 
historical  variations  as  they  appear  in  the  course  of 
its  temporal  development.  Such  changes  must  have 
escaped  all  notice  as  long  as  there  were  no  written 
records  of  the  speech  of  past  generations,  but  with  the 
introduction  of  these  attention  was  early  called  to  them. 
Polybius,1  for  instance,  expressly  notes  that  he  was 
able  to  decipher  with  the  assistance  of  philological  ex- 
perts parts  only  of  the  treaty  alleged  to  have  been  con- 
cluded between  the  Romans  and  the  Carthaginians  in 
the  first  year  of  the  republic :  "  TyXitcavri)  yap  97  Siafopa 
yeyove  rfjs  SiaXe/crov  /cat  irapa  'Po>yu,atbi?  TT}<?  vvv  777)09  rrjv 

1  III,  22.  The  fact  that  the  genuineness  of  this  treaty  must  be  strongly 
suspected  (Zeller,  Latium  und  Rom.  £1878],  p.  279)  is  of  no  importance 
here. 

134 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 


ap^aiav  wcrre  TOU?  crvverwrrov^  evia  pois  e  e7Tto-Tacre&)9 
Sievtcpiveiv."  And  St.  Jerome,  in  the  introduction  to 
his  Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,1 
notes  both  geographical  and  historical  changes  in  lan- 
guage: "Unum  est  quod  inferimus  et  promissum  in 
exordio  reddimus,  Galatas,  excepto  sermone  Graeco  quo 
omnis  Oriens  loquitur,  propriam  linguam  eandem  paene 
habere  quam  Treviros  ;  nee  referre  si  aliqua  exinde  cor- 
ruperint  cum  et  Afri  Phoenicum  linguam  nonnulla  ex 
parte  mutaverint  et  ipsa  Latinitas  et  regionibus  quotidie 
mutetur  et  tempore." 

2  All  changes  in  language  naturally  fall  into  two  classes, 
namely,  such  as  concern  the  phonetic  side  of  speech  and 
such  as  concern  its  meaning. 

Before,  however,  taking  up  each  one  of  these  prob- 
lems, it  is  necessary  to  settle  a  number  of  preliminary 
questions  which  affect  both  alike. 

In  comprising  a  large  mass  of  certain  linguistic  phe- 
nomena under  the  generic  term  of  "changes,"  we  are  in 
danger  of  assuming  a  priori  that  all  changes  in  speech 
are  organically  alike  and  therefore  permit  a  uniform 
explanation.  Such  an  attitude,  leading  one  to  "attempt 
to  overcome  the  diverse  forces  that  are  active  in  real  life 
with  the  defective  armor  of  one  narrow  formula,"2  will 
be  a  most  effective  impediment  in  the  investigation  of 
any  complex  social  phenomenon,  such  as  change  in  lan- 
guage. For  while  it  is  a  truism  that  a  like  combination 
of  like  forces  must  produce  like  effects,  it  is  no  less  true, 
though  sometimes  forgotten,  that  a  different  combination 
of  different  forces  may  produce  like  effects  also.  A 
series  of  social  phenomena  may  therefore  be  apparently 
of  the  same  nature,  while  in  reality  they  are  organically 

1  Migne's  Patrologia  Latina,  1st  series,  vol.  XXVI.,  col.  357. 

8  Oldenberg,  Zt.  d.  deut.  morgenl.  Ges.,  XXXXIX,  p.  173. 

135 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

very  different.  We  are  sometimes  too  easily  satisfied 
with  a  descriptive  classification  which  rests  upon  exter- 
nal appearances  and  takes  little  or  no  cognizance  of  the 
genesis  of  the  objects  with  which  it  deals.  Such  classi- 
fication is  useful  and  necessary  as  a  preliminary  step,  but 
its  character  must  always  be  tentative,  preparatory.  As 
soon  as  it  arrogates  to  itself  any  claim  to  finality  it  only 
delays  progress.  The  purpose  of  all  scientific  investiga- 
tion is  to  understand  its  objects,  i.  e.,  to  learn  how  they 
came  to  be  what  they  are.  If  among  one  hundred  bank- 
notes of  a  certain  denomination  a  few  should  show  a 
peculiar  mark  in  the  right-hand  corner  and  some  others 
a  peculiar  shading  of  the  centre  drawing,  we  should,  of 
course,  make  a  preliminary  descriptive  classification  of 
these  notes  into  three  groups;  but  we  should  not,  for 
that  reason,  be  any  the  wiser  concerning  the  origin  of 
these  peculiarities.  Nor  could  we  claim  to  have  satisfied 
all  justifiable  curiosity  if,  on  receiving  an  additional 
note,  we  should  place  it  with  those  which  it  resembles 
most.  Not  until  we  have  examined  the  plates,  and  the 
process  of  printing,  and  the  fate  of  the  notes  after  being 
issued,  have  we  satisfactorily  dealt  with  this  problem. 
Naming  a  thing  is  not  explaining  it  when,  as  is  usual, 
the  name  merely  reflects  a  classification  according  to 
external  appearances. 

3  Wherever  we  have  to  deal  with  changes  in  the  lan- 
guage, belief,  or  customs  of  a  social  body,  we  must  at 
the  very  outset  distinguish  between  primary  and  second- 
ary changes.  By  primary  changes  I  mean  those  which 
originated  in,  and  were  created  by,  the  individual,  who, 
therefore,  plays  an  active  part  in  their  production.  By 
secondary  changes  I  mean  those  which,  having  been 
originated  elsewhere,  are  adopted  by  the  individual, 
who,  therefore,  plays  a  passive  part.  This  second  class 

136 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

of  changes  is,  therefore,  "imitative"  in  the  sense  in 
which  Tarde1  uses  the  word,  i.  e.,  without  the  usual 
implication  of  purpose  or  intention,  or  "mimetic"  after 
Dantec's2  terminology.  Intentional  and  unintentional 
imitation  is  the  force  which  makes  man  a  %yov  TroXm/coV. 
The  uniformity  of  speech,  belief,  and  customs  does  not 
rest  upon  the  simultaneous  active  production  of  the 
same  sound,  thought,  or  habit  by  the  several  members 
of  a  community,  but  upon  the  universal  acceptance  and 
general  "  imitation "  of  some  sound,  thought,  or  habit 
which  arose  in  a  certain  individual.  A  social  group  is 
not  co-operative  in  the  sense  that  each  member  actively 
participates  in  the  production  of  every  single  element 
which  goes  to  make  up  language,  or  belief,  or  customs. 
The  initiative  for  every  change,  or,  as  Tarde  calls  it, 
for  every  "invention"  (a  term  which  he  uses  without 
any  reference  either  to  the  degree  of  consciousness  in- 
volved, for  often  an  individual  will  "invent"  without 
being  aware  of  it,  or  to  the  difficulty  or  the  merit  of  the 
invention),  —  the  initiative  for  every  innovation  lies  in 
the  individual;  but  this  "invention"  gains  its  social 
character  by  "  imitative  "  adoption.  "  Democracy, "  Mr. 
Zangwill3  said  in  one  of  his  clever  essays,  "never 
escapes  aristocracy,  for  the  people  never  invents  ideas; 
its  whole  power  is  that  of  choice  between  the  ideas 
offered  by  its  would-be  leaders,  and  even  these  it  accepts 
less  as  a  philosopher  than  as  a  patient,  rather  as  '  germs  ' 
than  as  thoughts."  By  means  of  social  "imitation  "  we 
obtain4  "une  reproduction  quasi  photographique  d'un 
clich^  ce*r£bral  par  la  plaque  sensible  d'un  autre  cer- 

1  Le  role  social  de  1'Imitation  (in  Revue  Scientifique,  XXXXV  [1890]), 
and  Les  lois  de  1'Imitation  (1895). 

2  Revne  philosophique,  XXXXVI  (1898),  p.  359. 
8  Without  Prejudice  (1896),  p.  68. 

*  Tarde,  Les  loisde  1'Imitation  (2d  ed.,  1895),  p.  viii  and  37. 

137 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

veau"  .  .  .  "  [une]  empreinte  de  photographic  inter- 
spirituelle,  pour  ainsi  dire,  qu'elle  soit  voulue  ou  non, 
passive  ou  active."  .  .  .  "Limitation  est  une  ge'ne'ra- 
tion  a  distance."  That  "imitation"  in  social  life  plays 
a  part  similar  to  that  of  heredity  in  organic  life  is  the 
thesis  of  a  whole  chapter  of  Tarde's  suggestive  book. 
Here  is  the  reason  for  the  uniform,  typical  character  of 
social  facts  as  contrasted  with  the  dissimilarity  and 
apparent  irregularity  of  those  intellectual  manifestations 
which  belong  preponderatingly  to  the  individual.  This 
is  the  difference  between  the  social  products  of  lan- 
guage, religion,  and  customs,  which  are  essentially 
democratic,  because  only  that  which  has  met  with  the 
approval  of  the  community  can  enter  into  them,  while 
all  other  innovations  must  vanish  without  leaving  a 
trace,  as  contrasted  with  the  individual  creations  of 
literature  and  philosophy,  which  are  essentially  aris- 
tocratic because  their  existence  depends  on  the  will  and 
ability  of  the  individual  alone,  and  not  on  the  approval 
of  the  masses.  That  imitative  dependence  which  appears 
abnormally  magnified  in  hypnotism l  lies  at  the  bottom  of 
social  imitation  and  of  society  itself.  "La  socie'te' 
c'est  I'imitation,  et  1'imitation  c'est  une  espSce  de 
somnambulisme,"  —  thus  Tarde2  sums  up  one  of  his 
chapters.  The  distinction  between  primary  and  second- 
ary changes  is  of  the  greatest  importance,  because  the 
causes  for  a  change  can  only  be  studied  where  the 
change  is  primary.  In  the  case  of  secondary  (imitative) 
changes,  on  the  other  hand,  we  must  seek  for  reasons 

1  Cf.  A.  Binet,  La  Suggestibility  (Biblioth.  de  Pedagogic  et  de  Psy- 
chologic), 1900;  Sidis,  The  Psychology  of  Suggestion,  1898;  also  Bald- 
win, Social  and  Ethical  Interpretations  in  Mental  Development  (1897), 
p.  228,  §  148. 

2  Les  lois  de  limitation  (1895),  p.  95. 

138 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

for  their  adoption.  It  goes  without  saying  that  all 
secondary  changes  originated  as  primary  changes  and 
as  such  they  are  the  direct  result  of  certain  forces.  But 
as  secondary,  i.  e.,  adopted  changes,  they  appear  where 
these  forces  never  existed.  To  make  a  coin  it  is  neces- 
sary to  have  a  machine,  but  any  one  can  possess  a  coin 
without  ever  having  had  a  machine.  Not  everywhere, 
therefore,  where  a  certain  change  is  observable,  may  we 
expect  to  find  the  causes  also  to  which  it  is  due ;  such 
generative  forces  can  only  be  discovered  where  the 
change  is  primary.  The  following  diagram  may  help 
to  illustrate  this  point.  In  it  (a  b  x  c  d)  represents  a 
word  consisting  of  five  sound-elements,  2  a  sum  of 
forces  which  operate  on  the  sound-element  x  and  change 
it  to  y.  This  change  takes  place  in  the  individual  A . 
The  individual  B  merely  imitates  this  change,  and 
adopting  the  form  (a  b  y  c  d),  substitutes  it  for  his 
original  (a  b  x  c  d).  The  ultimate  outcome  is  the 
same  for  A  and  B,  but  the  two  processes  are  fundamen- 
tally different. 


INDIVIDUAL  INDIVIDUAL 

A  B 

adopted  and  trans- 
Second  stage   (a  b  y  c  d) — — - — >  (a  b  y  c  d) 


ferred  by  B 


°3    9. 

o  <o 

§1 


First  stage      (o  b  x  c  d) 


I 
I 


(a  b  x  c  d) 


bC§ 

.5  8 

bO  *•• 
oS   <o 


139 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

Considering  its  great  importance  for  the  proper  under- 
standing of  linguistic  phenomena,  the  attention  which 
has  been  devoted  to  imitation  in  language  has  been  but 
very  scant.  Benfey,1  in  1877,  referred  in  general  terms 
to  imitation  as  a  factor  in  linguistic  development.  How 
can  we,  he  asks,  account  for  the  greater  or  smaller 
degree  of  uniformity  which  characterizes  the  speech  of  a 
social  unit  in  spite  of  the  tendency  in  each  individual  to 
vary  in  his  pronunciation  ?  In  answer  he  points  to  "  the 
tendency  to  assimilation  and  equalization  (Trieb  der 
An-  oder  Ausgleichung)  which  pervades  mankind,  and 
upon  which  rests  the  social  character  of  man  as  a  %q>ov 
TToXtri/coV."  He  then  proceeds  to  illustrate  this  process 
of  assimilation  by  references  to  the  uniformity  apparent 
in  family-languages,  the  language  of  a  village,  of  a  prov- 
ince, and  of  a  whole  country,  all  of  them  results  of  an 
equalization  of  the  speech  of  a  number  of  individuals. 
"  The  larger  social  unit  sets  the  standard  for  all  smaller 
units  contained  in  it,  to  which  every  member  of  a 
smaller  unit  submits,  sometimes  consciously,  oftener 
without  being  aware  of  it."  As  representatives  of  this 
standard,  we  have  "in  primitive  times  poets,  orators, 
and,  in  general,  those  who  possessed  the  gift  to  influ- 
ence others  by  a  decisive,  powerful,  and  successful  use 
of  words.  The  feeling  prevails  that  those  who  know 
how  to  attain  important  ends  by  means  of  speech  are 
standard  speakers,  not  only  with  reference  to  substance 
but  also  to  form,  that  their  way  of  handling  language 
is  the  only  proper  and  good  way.  So  they  became 
authorities,  whose  example  was  followed  first  by  a 
narrow  circle,  which  kept  expanding  and  thus  gained 


1  Nachrichten  v.  d.  k.  Gesellsch.  d.  Wiss.  z.  Gottingen  (1877),  p.  547- 
553. 

140 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

recognition  —  if  not  always  universal  acceptance  —  for 
a  uniform  pronunciation."  Apart  from  the  fact  that 
the  involuntary  character  is  not  sufficiently  emphasized, 
Benfey's  discussion  can  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  impor- 
tance which  he  assigned  to  social  imitation.  But  no  one 
seems  to  have  thought  it  worth  while  to  study  this  prob- 
lem of  the  imitative  spread  of  speech -sounds,  words,  and 
constructions  in  detail,  and  to  collect  a  sufficiently  large 
number  of  concrete  examples.  A  few  scattered  allu- 
sions (which  any  one  can  easily  parallel  from  his  own 
experience)  are  all  that  we  meet  with  in  literature. 
Goethe,1  in  his  autobiography,  tells  how  he  and  his  sister 
took  English  lessons  of  a  native  teacher,  and  how  both 
in  this  way  mastered  not  only  the  accentual  and  tonic 
intricacies  of  the  English  language  but  "acquired  even 
the  personal  peculiarities  of  our  master,  so  that  it  made 
a  strange  impression  when  we  seemed  to  talk  as  if  with 
one  mouth."  In  the  same  way  Heidsiek 2  relates  that 
when  he  made  a  tour  through  the  Thuringian  Forest 
with  a  friend  who  had  a  good  ear  for  music,  the  latter 
had  acquired  in  a  few  days  such  proficiency  in  the 
Thuringian  dialect  that  he  might  have  denied  his  West- 
phalian  origin;  and  E.  v.  Wolzogen3  notes  the  ease  with 
which  some  persons  become  infected,  as  it  were,  with 
the  dialect  of  the  person  to  whom  they  speak,  just  as 
Dickens  had  remarked  in  his  Tale  of  Two  Cities  how 
any  strongly  marked  expression  of  face  on  the  part  of 
a  chief  actor  in  a  scene  of  great  interest  is  unconsciously 
imitated  by  the  spectators. 

Of  phoneticians,  Bremer  has  not  only  distinctly  advo- 

1  Aus  meinem  Leben,  II,  chapter  vi,  p.  239  (ed.  Geiger.    Neue  Ausgabe. 
Berlin,  1887). 

2  Der  Taubstumme  nnd  seine  Sprache  (1887),  p.  93. 
8  In  his  novel  Der  Kraft-Mayr  (1897),  II,  p.  44. 

HI 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

cated  the  imitative  spread  of  sound  changes,  but  also 
illustrated  it  by  a  few  concrete  examples.  In  the  intro- 
duction to  his  Deutsche  Phonetik l  (1893)  he  maintains 
that  "phonetic  changes  which  appear  in  a  language, 
like  all  other  linguistic  changes,  in  the  great  majority 
of  the  members  of  a  linguistic  unit  did  not  arise  organi- 
cally, nor  are  they  original  with  them,  but  they  start 
among  a  small  circle  with  which  the  rest  maintain  a  lin- 
guistic exchange,  and  are  thence  adopted  during  the 
course  of  generations."  In  support  of  this  assertion,  he 
cites  the  westward  progress  of  the  High-German  ei 
and  au  into  Thuringia,  in  consequence  of  which  only 
the  older  generation  preserves  i  and  ti  in  words  like  Zit 
(Zeit)  and  Htis  (Haus);  the  spread  of  the  uvular  r, 
which  was  introduced  from  France  into  Germany  and 
crowded  out  the  alveolar  r  first  in  the  cities,  whence 
the  new  sound  is  carried  into  the  villages  and  imitated ; 
and  a  few  other  instances  of  similar  gradual  diffusion  of 
a  sound.  Darmesteter  and  Hatzfeld2  mention  a  like 
spread  of  ou  for  o  in  the  French  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury; starting  in  the  South,  this  infected  the  rest  of 
France,  so  that  Father  Chiffet  wrote  in  1659:  "J'ay 
veu  le  temps  que  presque  toute  la  France  estoit  pleine 
de  chouses;  tous  ceux  qui  se  piquoient  d'estre  diserts 
chousaient  a  chaque  pe"riode."  The  same  authors  note 
the  change  of  intervocalic  r  to  z  and  vice  versa,  a  lin- 
guistic fad,  ridiculed  in  one  of  the  Epistres  attributed  to 
Clement  Marot,3  entitled  "  Epistre  du  Biau  Fy  de  Pazy  " 
and  beginning  with  the  lines : 

1  P.  x  f.  and  14  f. 

2  Le  Seizieme  Siecle  (4th  ed.,  1889),  p.  203  (ou  for  o),  p.  221  (r  for  2). 
8  CEnvres  completes  de  Clement  Marot  (nouv.  ed.  Paris,  1824),  vol.  Ill, 

p.  482  ff.    This  "  epistre  "  probably  belongs  to  his  son  Michel.    But  among 
Clement's  genuine  "  Epigrammes  "  is  one  "  Sur  quelques  maulvaises  ma- 

142 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

"  Madame  je  vous  raime  tan, 
Mais  ne  le  dicte  pas  pourtan, 
Les  musailles  on  derozeille 
Celuy  qui  et  les  gran  merveille 
Nou  doin  bien  to  couche  ensemble, 
Car  je  vous  rayme,  ce  me  semble, 
Si  for  que  ne  YOU  Tore  dize 
Et  vou  1'ay  bien  voulu  escrize."  1 

Again,  the  Hotel  de  Pisani  and  the  salon  of  Catherine, 
marquise  de  Rambouillet,  in  its  glory  the  birthplace  of 
the  French  Academy,  in  its  decline  the  cradle  of  the 
Prdcieuses  whom  Moli£re  ridiculed,  must  have  been  a 
centre  of  linguistic  innovations.  These,  from  the  evi- 
dence accessible  to  me,  were  rather  lexicographical  and 
stylistic  than  phonetic,  and  found  ready  imitators  in  all 
the  "ruelles,"  "alcoves,"  and  "reduits." 

For  syntactical,  stylistic  and  lexicographical  innova- 
tions the  theory  of  unintentional  repetition  (imitation), 
despite  the  absence  of  systematic  collections,  will  not 
be  viewed  with  disfavor.  It  is  too  evident  in  these 
cases  how  words,  phrases,  and  construction  are  taken  up 
and  adopted.  Not  very  long  ago2  we  saw  the  word 
"  pantata  "  rise  in  New  York,  gain  a  certain  currency, 
and  disappear  again  because  it  could  not  compete  with 

nieres  de  parler"  (vol.  II,  p.  461  =  Epigrammes,  liv.  IV,  no.  xxv)  in 
which  he  satirizes  some  conjugational  vagaries : 

Collin  s'en  allit  au  lendit 

On  n'achetit,  ni  ne  vendit 

Mais  senlement,  a  ce  qu'on  diet, 

Derobit  nne  jument  noire. 

La  raison  qu'on  ne  le  penda 

Fat  que  soudain  il  responds 

Que  jamais  autre  il  n'entenda,  etc. 

1  A  solitary  remnant  of  this  change  is  preserved  in  chaise,  which  con- 
tinued in  this  form  because  it  had  become  semantically  differentiated 
from  chaire. 

2  During  the  investigation  by  the  Lexow  Committee. 

143 


LECTURES   ON  THE   STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

the  well-established  "boss."  Still  more  recently  the 
word  "  strenuous "  was  launched  upon  an  apparently 
successful  career,  and  about  the  same  time  "  to  save  one's 
face  " 1  seemed  acceptable  to  many.  No  one  would  claim 
that  these  phrases  met  an  actual  want,  much  less  that 
in  these  cases  there  existed,  in  those  who  adopted  these 
innovations,  a  certain  predisposition  which  made  them 
particularly  susceptible.  Yet  this  is  the  claim  which  is 
usually  made  in  the  case  of  phonetic  alterations.  "  There 
must  exist,"  as  Brugmann2  once  said,  "in  a  large 
number  of  individuals  a  tendency  toward  the  alteration 
to  insure  its  success."  While  this  may  be  true  for  some 
changes,  it  is  not  true  for  even  the  majority,  for  in 
many  phonetic  changes  acceptance  and  rejection  do 
not  rest  upon  the  character  of  the  change  itself  at  all, 
but  upon  external  social  considerations  which  have  no 
inherent  or  necessary  connection  with  the  change.  This 
is  the  reason  why  all  attempts  to  explain  the  survival 
and  spread  of  linguistic  changes  on  a  purely  linguistic 
basis  must  fail.  For  instance,  certain  pronunciations, 
words,  and  constructions,  which  are  often  linguistically 
quite  justified,  are  yet  tabooed  as  vulgar.  So  while 
"muse'um"  is  proper,  "theater"  (theayter)  is  not;  of 
the  same  character  are  "genuine,"  "engine"  (with  I  as 
"eye"),  "you  was,"  and  many  others.  "What  sort  of 
people  are  the  Herberts?  Is  Mrs.  Herbert  a  lady?" 
asks  a  character  in  a  recent  novel.3  The  answer  is: 
"  She  is  the  sort  of  person  who  pronounces  the  '  t '  in 
*  often. ' '  In  all  these  cases  acceptance  and  rejection 
depend  on  causes  which  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 

1  Due  to  the  Chinese  troubles  and  their  language. 

2  Zum  heutigen  Stande  der  Sprachwissenschaft  (1885),  p.  50.     Cf.  also 
Wechssler  Forschungen  z.  Rom.  Philol.  Festg.  f.  Suchier  (1900),  p.  380. 

8  Th.  Fowler,  The  Farringdons,  p.  160. 

144 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

ease  or  difficulty  or  frequency  of  the  sound.  They  are 
exactly  parallel  to  the  spread  of  fashions.  When  Joh. 
Schmidt  argues  against  Friedrich  Miiller  that  sound 
changes  cannot  be  regarded  as  fashions  which  the  indi- 
vidual is  at  liberty  to  follow  or  reject,  according  to  his 
choice,  he  fails  to  see  that  whatever  may  be  true  theo- 
retically, in  practice  the  individual  is  not  free  to  accept 
or  to  decline  a  fashion  if  he  is  to  maintain  his  place  in 
the  circle  which  has  decided  in  favor  of  it.  No  one 
need  follow  a  fad,  because  that  is  purely  individual; 
but  he  who  refuses  to  follow  a  fashion,  which  is  social 
in  character,  will  find  himself  isolated  exactly  as  he 
who  maintains  or  affects  an  unusual  or  disapproved 
pronunciation.  Here  again  Goethe's  autobiography 
contains  a  passage  in  which  the  parallelism  of  fashion 
in  dress  and  fashion  in  speech  (=  dialectal  peculiari- 
ties) is  rather  strikingly  brought  out.1  Among  the 
inconveniences  which  he  encountered  when,  in  1765,  he 
transferred  his  residence  to  Leipzig,  "such  as  are 
entailed  in  any  change  of  locality  and  circumstances," 
Goethe  singles  out  two  as  of  especial  note.  "  The  first 
thing  which  the  ladies  found  fault  with  was  my  dress, 
and  it  is  true  that  I  arrived  from  home  at  the  Academy 
somewhat  strangely  equipped."  And  he  rather  amus- 
ingly details  how  his  father,  while  on  the  one  hand 
insisting  on  the  best  of  cloth,  yet  had  all  garments  made 
at  home  by  one  of  the  servants,  "  so  that  as  to  material 
we  were  well  able  to  challenge  comparison,  but  the  cut 
spoilt  it  all ;  for  though  such  a  domestic  tailor  might 
have  been  a  good  enough  journeyman  and  able  to  sew 
together  a  well  cut  coat,  he  did  not  usually  succeed  in 
cutting  the  cloth  himself,"  a  difficulty  aggravated  by  the 
preference  of  Goethe's  father  for  old  patterns  and  orna- 

1  Dichtung  und  Wahrheit,  book  VL 
10  145 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

ments.  When  Goethe  appeared  in  Leipzig  in  this 
wardrobe,  which  even  included  a  braided  coat,  "  it  was 
not  long  before  my  friends,  first  by  teasing,  then  by 
persuasive  reasoning,  tried  to  convince  me  that  I  looked 
as  if  blown  in  from  some  other  planet.  However  it 
annoyed  me,  I  did  not  at  first  know  how  to  help  myself. 
But  when  Herr  von  Masuren  (a  comic  character  repre- 
senting the  archaizing  country  squire  in  Frau  Gottsched's 
translation  of  Destouches'  play,  Le  po£te  campagnard), 
the  favorite  squire,  appeared  upon  the  stage  in  a  similar 
dress,  and  made  a  greater  hit  by  his  sartorial  than  his 
mental  incongruities,  I  took  courage  and  exchanged 
my  whole  wardrobe  —  though  it  shrank  a  good  deal  — 
for  one  that  would  conform  to  the  fashion  of  the  place. 

"  This  trial  over,  a  new  one  arose,  which  was  even  more 
unpleasant,  because  it  concerned  a  matter  not  so  easily 
put  aside  and  exchanged.  My  native  speech  was  the 
Upper  German  dialect,  and  although  my  father  had 
always  striven  for  a  certain  purity  of  language,  and, 
for  the  improvement  of  our  language,  early  called  the 
attention  of  us  children  to  what  might  be  considered 
serious  defects  of  this  idiom,  yet  I  retained  many  of 
the  deeply  rooted  peculiarities,  which  I  emphasized, 
because  I  liked  them  for  their  naivete,  but  which 
always  provoked  strong  expressions  of  disapprobation 
from  my  new  fellow  townsmen.  .  .  .  Every  one  knows 
how  stubbornly  the  dialect  of  Meissen  succeeded  in 
dominating,  nay,  for  a  time  in  excluding,  the  others. 
For  many  years  we  have  suffered  under  this  pedantic 
rule,  and  only  by  much  opposition  have  the  other  prov- 
inces reclaimed  their  rights.  What  a  young  and  active 
man  suffers  by  this  continual  fault-finding  can  easily  be 
understood  if  you  will  but  reflect  that  with  pronuncia- 
tion —  on  which  one  might  be  ready  to  yield  —  a  sacrifice 

146 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

in  thought,  imagination,  feeling,  and  native  character  is 
also  demanded.  And  these  intolerable  demands  were 
made  by  educated  men  and  women."  The  difference 
of  a  change  in  dress  and  in  pronunciation  is  not  a  qual- 
itative one.  They  differ  in  ease,  as  Goethe  rightly  points 
out,  because  a  change  in  pronunciation  requires  the 
acquisition  of  a  new  set  of  movements  and  the  oblitera- 
tion of  a  strongly  impressed  memory  of  the  old  set,  all 
of  which  a  change  in  dress  does  not  involve.  Further 
than  that,  there  are  a  greater  number  of  details  in  speech 
than  in  dress  which  remain  unobserved,  and  in  which 
the  individual  is  left  free.  But  a  failure  to  accept  what 
is  deemed  essential  in  either  dress  or  speech  fashion  is 
an  anti-social  proceeding;  it  is  properly  resented  by 
society  and  must  eventually  lead  to  isolation.  Nor  is 
this  true  of  modern  times  only.  In  fact  we  now  allow 
the  individual  greater  freedom  than  the  uncivilized 
tribes  do,  where  the  individual  is  much  more  completely 
merged  in  the  community.  And  there  are  the  best  of 
reasons  for  assuming  that  a  much  stricter  uniformity  in 
belief,  customs,  speech,  and  so  forth  was  insisted  upon 
in  early  times.  For  the  proper  understanding  of  the 
term  "phonetic  law,"  a  discussion  of  which  must  be 
postponed  till  later,  it  will  be  convenient  to  summarize 
this  paragraph  as  follows :  Only  a  small  number  of  lin- 
guistic changes  of  whatever  kind  arise  simultaneously 
in  many  individuals.  The  bulk  originates  in  one  indi- 
vidual and  gains  currency  when  imitated  by  others. 
This  imitation  is  in  a  small  minority  of  cases  intentional, 
in  by  far  the  largest  number  it  is  unintentional.  Ac- 
ceptance and  rejection  of  a  given  change  do  not  always 
rest  upon  the  character  of  the  change,  but  very  often  on 
external,  social  conditions.  Every  imitated  linguistic 
innovation  requires  a  certain  time  to  gain  currency. 

147 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

This  time  is  proportionate  to  the  ease  of  suggestibility 
of  those  who  are  confronted  with  the  change.  Wher- 
ever there  is  but  a  low  degree  of  such  suggestibility  the 
dialect  remains  stationary,  and  changes  do  not  spread 
far;  where  the  opposite  is  the  case,  languages  change 
readily  and  innovations  cover  a  large  area.  But  the 
degree  of  suggestibility  is  not  uniform  for  all  changes, 
but  varies  for  each  individual  case.  This  variation 
explains  why  certain  changes,  though  very  ancient,  have 
remained  restricted  to  a  small  area,  while  others  have 
spread  over  the  confines  of  their  original  linguistic 
community.  The  geographical  and  chronological  de- 
tails of  phonetic,  lexicographical,  and  syntactical  inno- 
vations are  yet  awaiting  investigation  at  the  hands  of 
students  of  the  modern  languages. 

In  the  case  of  the  imitative  spread  of  sound  changes 
we  must  finally  distinguish  between  those  cases  in  which 
a  single  sound  as  such  is  imitated,  and  those  in  which 
a  new  sound  is  received,  not  as  such,  but  as  bound  up 
with  a  definite  word  or  series  of  words.  Both  have 
been  noted  by  Bremer.1  The  gradual  substitution  of 
the  literary  High  German  ei  for  the  close  £  in  the 
dialect  of  Halle  (as  "wess"  for  "weiss,"  "sten"  for 
"  stein  ")  is  not  an  independent  sound  substitution,  but 
occurs  only  in  those  words  which  have  been  imported 
bodily  into  the  dialect.  "A  word  which  has  no  equiva- 
lent in  the  literary  German  would,  of  course,  retain  its 
§.  ...  It  is  also  noticeable  that  more  rarely  used 
words  and  such  as  occur  in  public  life  are  usually  pro- 
nounced with  the  new  diphthong  (ei),  e.  g.,  always 
'  Kaiser, '  while  everyday  words,  like  '  ich  wess, '  are 
longer  retained.  .  .  .  Common  people  say  *  der  Sten, ' 
but  '  Giebichenstein '  and  at  times  '  keen  Kleid '  in 

1  Deutsche  Phonetik,  p.  xi. 
148 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

juxtaposition."  The  imitation  of  a  sound  change  as  such 
Bremer  illustrates  by  the  substitution  of  the  High  German 
st  (in  "stehen,"  "sprechen")  for  the  Low  German  st. 

In  those  cases  where  a  sound  change  is  introduced 
not  by  itself  but  together  with  extra-dialectal  words,  it 
sometimes  happens  that  a  wrong  relation  is  established 
between  the  old  and  the  new  sounds,  and  that  then  the 
substitution  of  a  sound  is  unduly  extended.  So  we 
have  in  a  great  many  words  (like  "point,"  "to  boil," 
etc.)  illustrations  of  the  contrast  between  the  literary 
and  original  oi  and  the  dialectal  i  ("pint,"  "to  bile," 
etc.).  In  adapting  the  dialectal  pronunciation  (i)  to 
the  standard  English  oi  the  change  is  sometimes  carried 
too  far,  and  an  oi  is  substituted  for  an  i  where  the 
latter  is  legitimate.  So  Shakespeare's  "bile  "has  be- 
come "boil,"  Old  French  "giste"  has  been  changed  to 
"joist."1  In  the  same  way  the  relation  of  vulgar  -en 
(-in)  in  the  so-called  present  participle  to  standard 
English  -ing  gives  by  extension  forms  like  chicking^ 
hitching,  parding  (chicken,  kitchen,  pardon).  This 
process  is  exactly  parallel  to  what  in  Greek  grammar  is 
termed  Hyperdoricism  and  Hyperaeolicism,  as  in  the 
e(j>a/3(i)v  on  an  Aeolic  inscription  of  Roman  times  and 
the  Theocritean  dfia. 

4  In  discussing  imitative  changes  so  far  I  have  always 
referred  to  the  imitation  of  one  individual  by  another, 
and  the  consequent  transfer  of  some  peculiarity  of 
speech  from  one  person  to  another.  There  is,  how- 
ever, also  an  imitation  of  an  individual  by  himself,  an 
adaptation  of  certain  of  his  actions  to  other  actions  of 
his  own.  This  intra-individual  imitation  we  mean 
when,  in  language,  we  speak  of  analogy.  Analogical 
changes  form  the  exact  counterpart  within  the  same 

1  Storm,  Engl.  Philologie  (2d  ed.),  II,  p.  820. 
149 


LECTURES   ON   THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

individual  to  the  "imitative"  changes  within  a  social 
group,  which  we  have  just  discussed.  As  we  distin- 
guished then  between  primary  and  secondary  changes, 
so  we  must  now  distinguish  between  independent 
and  analogical  changes.  Both  primary  and  independent 
changes  are  original,  while  secondary  and  analogical 
changes  are  imitative.  The  only  difference  between 
the  last  two  is  that  in  the  former  one  individual  imitates 
another,  in  the  latter  the  same  individual  imitates  him- 
self. We  must,  therefore,  not  look  for  generative  forces 
in  analogical  changes  any  more  than  we  should  expect 
to  find  them  in  secondary  changes.  Both  being  imita- 
tive, the  question  in  both  cases  is  not  what  were  the 
forces  which  brought  about  an  innovation,  but  what  was 
the  reason  for  its  adoption. 

5  The  basis  of  all  analogy  formation  is  association. 
Without  previous  association  there  can  be  no  analogy 
formation,  for  we  mean  by  this  term  the  interference  of 
one  word  or  phrase  with  another  word  or  phrase,  and 
such  interference  is  impossible  without  some  sort  of 
associative  contact.  But  while  every  case  of  analogy 
formation  presupposes  an  association,  it  is  not  conversely 
true  that  every  association  must  result  in  an  analogy  for- 
mation. Wherever  such  analogy  formation  has  taken 
place  it  is  a  sign  that  the  two  associated  words  or 
phrases  have  not  remained  equipollent,  but  that  one  has 
proved  stronger  than  the  other,  and  the  reason  for  such 
preponderance  is  a  fit  subject  for  investigation.  Both 
points  have  been  briefly  touched  by  Scherer.  "  It  would 
be  a  useful  undertaking,"  he  says  in  his  Zur  Geschichte 
der  deutschen  Sprache  (1868), 1  "if  some  one  would  treat 

1  P.  177  of  the  first  edition  with  the  addendum  on  p.  473  =  p.  26  of  the 
second  edition ;  cf.  also  Zimmer's  review  of  the  second  edition  in  Bezzenb. 
Beitr.,  Ill,  p.  325. 

150 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

this  process  of  form-transfer  or  analogy  in  its  general 
bearings,  and  especially  would  try  to  establish  the  limits 
within  which  it  must  keep  ....  The  following  may  be 
given  as  a  preliminary  rule  which  will  be  sufficient  for 
many  cases:  When  a  form  A  defeats  a  form  B  and 
crowds  it  out,  A  and  B  must  have  one  element  x  in 
common  which  distinguishes  them  from  similar  and 
related  forms,  i.  e.,  A  =  x  -\-  a,  B  =  x  -\-  yS.  But  the 
supremacy  of  A  and  the  displacement  of  ft  by  a  depends 
on  frequency  of  use."  What  other  factors  besides  fre- 
quency of  use  enter  into  the  question  must  be  left  to 
further  psychological  investigation.  If  it  is  true,  for 
instance,  that  Heraclean  6/ero>  owes  its  rough  breathing 
to  eTTTa,  as  ^efc  to  t^uei?,  frequency  of  use  could  hardly 
be  relied  upon  to  explain  the  victory  of  one  form 
over  the  other.  Should  "seven"  really  have  been  so 
much  oftener  used  than  "  eight "  ?  In  those  cases  in 
which  the  memories  of  the  two  terms  do  not  arise  abso- 
lutely simultaneously,  the  order  in  which  the  motor 
memories  are  awakened  may  play  an  important  part  and 
secure  an  advantage  to  the  first,  unless  the  memory 
image  of  the  second  is  more  vivid.  These  questions, 
however,  cannot  be  solved  on  the  basis  of  analogy  for- 
mations as  they  are  recorded  in  language,  but  must  be 
left  to  the  psychological  laboratory. 
6  Association,1  in  the  broadest  sense  of  the  term,  is  the 
recall  to  consciousness  by  some  conscious  element  of 
one  or  more  psychical  elements  which  have  passed  from 
consciousness.  All  external  objects  affect  us  through 
stimuli,  which  are  received  by  the  peripheral  organs  of 
sense,  transmitted  along  the  centripetal  nerves,  and 
appear  in  consciousness  as  sensations.  Our  percepts  of 

1  This  exposition  follows  Wundt.    Cf.  also  Ziehen,  Leitfaden  (1896), 
p.  116  ;  Hofler,  Psychologie  (1897),  p.  162. 

151 


LECTURES   ON   THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

things  consist  of  a  number  of  sensations  (often  belonging 
to  more  than  one  sense  sphere)  which,  by  a  process  of 
associative  synthesis,  are  closely  knitted  into  one  com- 
pound whole.  By  this  union  the  different  elements 
of  one  percept  are  so  firmly  welded  together  that  a  sin- 
gle element  may  recall  the  rest.  When  the  peripheral 
stimulation  ceases  the  sensation  begins  to  fade,  and 
ultimately  disappears  entirely;  it  passes  out  of  our 
consciousness,  and,  according  to  current  psychological 
theory,  its  existence  as  a  sensation  has  absolutely  come 
to  an  end,  for  an  unconscious  sensation  is  a  contradic- 
tion in  terms.  There  is  no  psychical  Hades  in  which 
sensations,  as  such,  may  lead  a  shadow-life  like  Homer's 
veKvwv  afj,ev7]va  icdprjva  waiting  for  a  sip  of  dark  blood. 
Yet  we  know  that  this  vanished  sensation  may  be 
"re-called,"  i.  e.,  remembered.  And  to  strike  a  bridge 
between  the  first  percept  which  was  due  to  direct  stimu- 
lation and  its  remembered  image,  it  is  plausibly  sug- 
gested that  every  stimulation  produces  a  change  in  the 
cerebral  centres  which  it  affects.  The  alteration  in  the 
cerebral  centres  creates  a  disposition  or  diathesis  to  pro- 
duce later,  under  favorable  circumstances,  a  psychical 
movement  similar  to  the  first.  Upon  the  creation  and 
strengthening  of  this  diathesis  rests  what  we  call  prac- 
tice. We  can  train,  e.  g.,  our  arm  for  a  certain  compli- 
cated movement  by  going  through  the  movement  a  stated 
number  of  times.  The  movement  itself  completely  van- 
ishes, —  it  certainly  does  not  continue  to  exist  in  a  faded 
form,  - —  but  the  complicated  movement  may  thereafter 
be  repeated  with  great  exactness,  which  forces  us  to 
conclude  that  the  ability  to  perform  this  movement  in 
this  manner  has  meanwhile  remained  latent  in  the  cere- 
bral centres.  This  latent  disposition  we  call  diathesis. 
Any  diathesis,  however,  may  at  any  time  appear  as  an 

152 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 


element  of  consciousness  when  it  receives  a  new  stimulus 
from  without.  In  the  case  of  percepts,  consisting  of  a 
number  of  sensations,  the  union  of  these  is  so  close  that 
it  is  only  necessary  to  recall  into  consciousness  one  of 
its  elements  in  order  to  recall  most  of  the  rest.  So  that, 
generally  speaking,  any  conscious  percept  may  arouse 
to  psychical  life  any  former  percept  which  has  become 
unconscious,  provided  that  the  two  have  one  element  in 
common.  This  common  element  is  the  associative  link. 
The  process  of  association,  then,  never  takes  place  be- 
tween whole  ideas,  but  between  some  identical  elements 
of  these  ideas  which  carry  the  remainder  in  their  train. 
The  whole  may  be  illustrated  by  the  following  diagram, 
in  which  the  percept  A  is  the  result  of  a  union  of  the 
sensations  se1  to  set  produced  by  the  stimuli  st-^  to  stt. 
(First  stage.)  After  a  while  they  pass  from  conscious- 
ness, leaving  behind  the  functional  dispositions  d^-d^. 
(Second  stage.  )  If,  now,  a  new  percept  B  enters  con- 
sciousness which  unites  the  sensations  se^-se-,  (the 
results  of  the  stimuli  s^-sfc,),  the  conscious  element  se4of 
the  percept  B  brings  back  to  consciousness  the  element 
c?4  and  with  it  the  whole  percept  A.  (Third  stage.) 


First  Stage. 
Physiological :    (d1   dz   d3  d4) 


Second  Stage.      Third  Stage, 
d,   d0  df  d.  d*  da  d. 


> 

v          > 

'  ^ 

r  ^ 

•f\      ' 

k 

4J 

Psychological  :  (s 

•»! 

€„  S 

e,j 

k                              > 

e^)  =  A  (s 
(r 

f  -\ 

"i  s 
em< 

°2  * 

3inV 

\ 

r        -if                t 
ei    Set)     (S 

»ered) 

^J 
> 

e4  s 

k        j 

».         j 

e6  s 

/«< 
e6  ,« 

st    st    st 


Physiological  :     s^  stz  sts 

7     The  importance  of  the  process  of  association  in  its 
various  forms  for  our  psychical  economy  cannot  be  over- 

153 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

rated.  Language,  both  in  its  words  and  in  its  structure, 
reflects  an  associative  grouping  of  the  contents  of  con- 
sciousness which  is  not  dependent  upon  the  individual's 
choice,  but  is  social,  i.  e.,  common  to  many  individuals, 
and  which,  by  being  fixed  in  language,  has  become 
stable  and  compulsory  for  subsequent  generations,  inter- 
fering, to  a  certain  extent,  with  the  play  of  arbitrary, 
individual  associations,  while  enforcing  upon  all  mem- 
bers of  a  linguistic  unit  the  uniform  acceptance  of  a  set 
of  ready-made  associations. 

Here,  however,  we  must  deal  not  with  association  in 
general,  but  only  with  those  linguistic  disturbances  to 
which  it  often  gives  rise.  In  language  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  call  the  results  of  such  disturbances  analogy 
formations.  This  term,  however,  is  not  the  exact  coun- 
terpart of  what  is  here  called  "  associative  interference  " 
or  "associative  disturbance."  In  the  first  place  the 
term  "analogy  formation"  is  sometimes  restricted  to 
those  cases  in  which  one  word  interferes  with  the  form 
of  another  word.  The  term  "associative  interference," 
on  the  other  hand,  comprises  both  those  cases  in  which 
the  form  (pop^)  of  one  word  is  adapted  to  that  of 
another  word  (formal  or  morphological  analogy)  and 
those  in  which  the  meaning  (a-ri^acria)  of  one  word 
has  been  affected  by  that  of  another  word  (semantic 
analogy). 

Again,  the  term  "  analogy  "  is  sometimes  used  for  as- 
similative changes  in  words  only.  Associative  disturb- 
ances take  place  not  only  in  the  case  of  two  connected 
words,  but  likewise  in  phrases,  and  in  those  combinations 
of  words  which  we  call  grammatical  categories.  Ex- 
amples for  all  of  these  are  included  in  the  following 
discussion. 

Finally,  the  term  "analogy  formation  "  is  wider  than 
154 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

associative  disturbance,  because  it  includes  the  results  of 
analogical  creation,  the  process  of  which  is  psychologi- 
cally different  from  that  of  associative  interference. 

At  present,  then,  the  discussion  will  be  confined  to 
cases  of  associative  interference  of  words,  phrases,  and 
word-groups.  Illustrative  material  for  these  is  so 
plentiful  and  easily  accessible,  partly  in  the  indexes  of 
the  various  grammars,  partly  in  the  convenient  mono- 
graph of  B.  I.  Wheeler,1  that  an  accumulation  of  exam- 
ples is  unnecessary.  In  the  following  a  few  typical 
cases  have  been  selected  as  representative  of  various 
classes  of  analogical  interference  for  the  sake  of  compar- 
ing the  facts  of  language  with  such  classifications  of 
association  as  have  been  worked  out  by  psychologists 
upon  the  basis  of  experimental  investigations.2 
8  Psychologists  distinguish  two  classes  of  association, 
namely,  immediate  and  mediate ;  in  the  former  case  the 
association  is  by  direct  connection  of  two  ideas  without 
the  intervention  of  an  auxiliary  idea ;  in  the  latter  case 
the  association  requires  the  mediation  of  a  third,  auxil- 
iary idea,  the  presence  of  which  is  not  realized,  as  when 
the  word  "  mater  "  is  associated  with  the  German  word 
"Allmacht"  through  the  intervention  of  the  unattended 
"alma,"  which  by  sound  is  linked  to  "Allmacht"  and  by 
'habitual  juxtaposition  in  a  well-known  phrase  to 
"mater."  For  linguistic  purposes  this  second  class  may 
be  entirely  neglected ;  so  that  we  may  confine  ourselves 

1  Analogy  and  the  Scope  of  its  Application  in  Language  (1887)  [in  Cor- 
nell University  Studies  in  Classical  Philology].    This  also  contains  a  good 
bibliography.    Cf.  also  V.  Henry's  6tude  sur  1'Analogie  en  general  et 
eur  les  Formations  analogiques  de  la  Langue  Grecque  (1883). 

2  Thumb  and  Marbe's  Experimentelle  Untersuchungen  iiber  die  psy- 
chologischen  Grundlagen  der  sprachlichen  Analogiebildung  (1901)   ap- 
peared while  these  pages  were  passing  through  the  press.     This  contains 
the  necessary  bibliographical  references. 

155 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

to  cases  of  immediate  association.  In  this  the  two 
chief  divisions  are  the  associations  by  sound  and  the 
associations  by  sense.  It  is  customary  to  subdivide  the 
latter  into  intrinsic  associations  (where  the  cause  of 
the  connection  is  the  identity  of  one  element  of  the 
two  ideas)  and  extrinsic  associations  (where  the  link 
between  the  two  ideas  does  not  lie  in  the  nature  of  the 
ideas  themselves  but  in  their  local  or  temporal  conti- 
guity, e.  g.,  when  a  certain  coat  is  associated  with  a  cer- 
tain person).  This,  however,  appears  to  be  a  logical 
rather  than  a  psychological  division.  At  any  rate  the 
line  of  division  between  intrinsic  and  extrinsic  associa- 
tion does  not  always  appear  sharply  marked,  and  when 
"  nose  "  is  associated  with  "  mouth,"  the  question  whether 
this  association  is  due  to  their  local  contiguity  (as 
Aschaffenburg  assumes)  or  to  the  fact  that  they  are 
both  parts  of  the  face  remains  open.  In  the  latter  case 
their  association  would  be  parallel  to  that  of  "tiger" 
and  "lion,"  which  Aschaffenburg  classes  as  an  intrinsic 
association  by  co-ordination. 

9  Comparing  the  linguistic  material  of  analogy  forma- 
tions with  this  psychological  scheme  of  associations,  it 
becomes  at  once  apparent  that,  for  the  explanation  of  a 
number  of  analogy  formations  in  language,  it  is  necessary 
to  assume,  besides  the  associations  (1)  by  sound  and 
(2)  by  sense,  a  third  group,  namely,  associations  by 
function.  By  this  is  meant  the  association  of  words 
which  neither  are  related  in  meaning  nor  resemble  each 
other  in  sound,  but  play  the  same  or  a  similar  part  in 
the  construction  of  a  sentence.  Paul  calls  this  formal 
grouping;  but  as  "  formal "  might  be  understood  to  refer 
to  sound  also,  the  term  "  association  by  function  "  seems 
preferable.  This  functional  grouping  produces  the 
mental  substratum  for  such  grammatical  categories  as 

156 


IMITATIVE  AND   ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

the  cases,  tenses,  numbers,  degrees  of  comparison,  etc. 
That  the  association  by  function  is  a  fairly  close  one 
may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  in  a  number  of  cases 
two  forms  which  have  nothing  in  common  except  their 
functional  likeness  show  traces  of  analogical  interfer- 
ence. Illustrations  are  easily  found  by  glancing  through 
the  paragraphs  on  the  formation  of  cases,  modes,  tenses, 
etc.,  of  any  historical  grammar.  So  in  the  Oscan  dia- 
lect the  ending  of  the  nominative  plural,  -os,  of  the 
masculine  o-  stems  (e.  #.,  Abellanus)  has  affected  the 
corresponding  case  of  the  relative  pronoun  and  displaced 
its  regular  and  distinctive  ending  (e.  g.,  ptis,  but  Latin 
qui)  much  as  in  vulgar  English  the  sigmatic  plural  of 
nouns  has  affected  the  pronoun  of  the  second  person, 
changing  "you"  to  "yous,"  while  in  the  Latin  the  re- 
verse process  has  taken  place  (namely,  ITTTTOI  for  *  tWo)? 
after  ot ) ;  similarly  the  -s  of  the  English  nominal  ad- 
verbs "always,"  "otherwise,"  "lengthwise  "  =  "length- 
ways "  has  influenced  other  adverbs,  as  "sometimes" 
and  even,  colloquially,  "nowheres"  (as  "noways"), 
"anywheres."  In  these  cases  neither  the  meaning  of 
the  words  nor  their  similarity  of  form,  but  only  func- 
tional likeness,  can  have  given  rise  to  associative  con- 
nection. By  a  properly  devised  method  it  would 
undoubtedly  be  possible  to  collect  experimental  support 
for  the  claim  of  purely  functional  association  which  so 
far  rests  upon  a  very  broad  basis  of  linguistic  analogy 
formation  only.  The  ordinary  way  of  collecting  such 
material  by  showing  or  calling  out  a  certain  number  of 
words,  usually  nouns  or  adjectives,  which  are  to  serve 
as  starting  points  practically  precludes  the  occurrence 
of  functional  associations.  But  a  modification  of  this 
method  by  which,  mixed  with  others,  words  in  various 
grammatical  forms  (e.  g.,  fastest,  fell,  richer,  wept, 

157 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

feet,  days)  were  shown  in  the  hope  that  they  might 
induce  functional  associations,  did  not  prove  successful. 
The  reason  for  the  failure  is  probably  this,  that  the  real 
functional  value  of  these  forms  is  destroyed  as  soon  as 
they  are  removed  from  the  sentences  in  which  only  they 
could  naturally  occur.  An  isolated  word  retains  its 
phonetic  form  and,  at  least  partly,  also  its  signification, 
but  function  seems  to  require  an  adequate  setting. 

Association  by  function  must  then  be  added  to  the 
two  classes  of  association  by  sound  and  by  sense,  and 
awaits  experimental  confirmation. 

10  The  association  of  similar  ideas  into  more  or  less 
cohesive  groups  plays  a  very  prominent  part  in  our  psy- 
chical economy,1  but  much  of  it  goes  on  without  betray- 
ing itself  outwardly  in  the  form  of  the  words  which 
stand  for  the  allied  ideas.  The  most  elaborate  and  con- 
sistent attempt  to  arrange  its  words  in  congeneric 
groups  according  to  the  similarity  of  the  ideas  for  which 
they  stand  is  found  in  the  Bantu  family  of  languages, 
which  "  are  heard  in  all  the  well- watered  parts  of  South 
Africa,  from  the  Keiskamma  River  in  Cape  Colony  to  the 
equator  in  the  east,  and  from  Walfish  Bay  to  the  Old 
Kalabar  River  on  the  fifth  parallel  of  north  latitude  in 
the  west."  "In  the  Bantu  languages,"  says  Torrend,2 
"we  find  no  genders  based  on  sex,  but  instead  other 
genders  or  classes  of  substantives,  based  principally  .  .  . 
on  the  degree  of  unity  and  consistency  of  those  things  of 
which  they  are  the  names,  as  determined  by  their  natural 
position  and  shape,  their  proper  motions,  effects,  rela- 

1  Kares,  in  Zt.  f.  Volkerpsych.  nnd  Sprachwiss.,  XVII  (1887),  p.  176, 
315,385;  Bloomfield  in  Americal  Journal  of  Philol.,  XII  (1891),  p.  1; 
XVI,  p.  409. 

2  A  Comparative  Grammar  of  the  South  African  Bantu  Languages 
(1891),  p.  xvii  and  p.  63,  §  313. 

158 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

tive  strength,  etc."  No  better  description  of  a  conge- 
neric arrangement  could  be  desired.  "  The  class  of  most 
substantives,"  Torrend  continues,  "is  generally  marked 
by  a  peculiar  prefix  which  we  term  the  '  classifying 
element '  or  '  classifier '  (a  term  proposed  by  the  Rev.  F. 
W.  Kolbe).  There  are  a  few  substantives  to  which  no 
such  classifier  is  prefixed.  The  proper  class  of  such 
can,  however,  be  made  out  from  the  sort  of  concord  they 
require."  There  are  a  dozen  of  such  congeneric  classes, 
for  example : 

mu-ntu  "  person  " ;  plu- 
ral, ba-ntu. 

mu-bili  "  body  "  ;  plu- 
ral, mi-bili. 

in-gombe  "  cow  " ;  plu- 
ral, (z)in-gombe. 

(l)i-zuba  "  sun  " ;  plu- 
ral, ma-zuba. 

bu-alo  "  canoe  " ;  plu- 
ral, ma-ato. 

ku-tui  "  ear  " ;  plural, 
ma-tui. 


1.  Class  with  prefix  mu-  in  the  sing.,  ba-  in  the  plur. 

2  «        «      «     mu-  "  •"     "      mi-    "    "      " 

3.  "         «      "     in-    "    «    "       (z)in-«    "      «< 

4.  "        "      "     (l)i-  «    "    «*       ma-  "    "       " 

5.  "         "       "    bu-   "    "     "      ma-  "    "       " 

6.  "         «       "    ku-  'i    "    "      ma-  "    "        " 


The  distribution  of  all  nouns  in  a  definite  system  of 
congeneric  classes  which  is  linguistically  reflected  by 
these  classifying  prefixes  vitally  affects  the  structure  of 
the  whole  language.  Thus  "an  element  essential  to 
every  pronoun  of  the  third  person  is  a  form  derived  from 
the  classifier  of  its  substantive."  And  as  this  element, 
in  turn,  connects  verbs  and  determinatives  with  their 
substantive,  it  is  easily  seen  how  the  whole  system  of 
Bantu  grammar  is  governed  by  this  congeneric  classifi- 
cation of  substantives.  So  we  have,  e.  g.,  u-lede,  "he 
(=  the  man,  mu-ntu)  is  asleep,"  where  u-  corresponds 
to  the  nominal  classifier  mu-  of  the  first  class ;  but  "  he 
(=  the  baby,  lu-sabila,  of  the  ninth  class)  is  asleep"  is 
lu-lede ;  "there  is  no  more  grass,"  literally,  "the  grass 

159 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

(bu-izu,  of  the  ninth  class)  is  no  (to)  more  (ci)  there 
(wo)  "  is  bu-izu  ta  bu-ci-wo. 

In  the  Indo-European  family  such  arrangement 
appears  only  in  a  very  rudimentary  form.  The  gram- 
matical structure  laid  out  on  an  entirely  different 
plan,  which  assigned  a  dominating  role  to  gender 
distinction,  was  not  favorable  to  it.  Nevertheless  the 
very  natural  tendency  to  reflect  formally  the  association 
of  kindred  ideas  is  not  wholly  absent.  Bloomfield,  who 
made  this  topic  the  subject  of  an  interesting  monograph 
(1891),  has  collected  a  considerable  amount  of  material 
in  order  to  show  how  certain  suffixes  have  been  grad- 
ually set  apart  for  some  definite  grammatical  or  lexical 
office,  though  originally  they  were  entirely  devoid  of 
such  meaning.  This  infusion  of  a  definite  functional 
value  into  an  empty  formative  element  he  calls  "  adapta- 
tion," and  most  of  his  investigation  deals  with  the  "  adap- 
tation of  suffixes  in  congeneric  classes  of  substantives." 
It  is,  of  course,  at  once  apparent  that  this  "  adaptation  " 
is  the  outward  and  linguistic  sign  of  the  process  of  con- 
solidation and  grouping  by  which  a  proper  articulation 
and  arrangement  of  the  mental  stock  is  effected.  Glanc- 
ing, for  instance,  over  the  long  list  of  animals  whose 
Greek  names  terminate  in  -f  (stem  -&,  -&0-),  we  are 
forced  to  conclude  with  Bloomfield  "that  there  must 
have  existed  in  the  speech  sense  of  the  Greeks  the  feel- 
ing that  the  suffix  -f  (nominative)  was  especially  fit  for 
designations  of  animals  ...  in  other  words,  that  the 
suffix  had  adapted  itself  definitely  to  such  use,"  or 
rather,  that  the  percepts  of  these  animals  had  entered 
into  a  close  associative  connection,  forming  a  group 
which  externally  betrays  its  existence  by  likeness  of  ter- 
mination. The  same  is  true  of  the  group  to  which 
father,  mother,  son,  daughter,  sister,  nephew,  etc., 

160 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

belong;  all  of  which  are  stamped  with  the  peculiar  hall- 
mark of  the  "family -group,"  namely,  the  suffix  -ter,  -tor> 
-er,  -or. 

It  must,  however,  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  "  adap- 
tation "  does  not  necessarily  imply  any  associative  inter- 
ference, but  is  just  as  frequently  the  source  of  analogical 
creation.  For  we  can  only  speak  of  analogical  interfer- 
ence in  those  cases  in  which,  of  two  ready-made,  full- 
grown  words  or  phrases  which  have  risen  simultaneously 
in  consciousness,  one  interferes  with  the  other. 
11  When,  namely,  two  ideas  are  so  closely  bound  together 
that  the  one  invariably  calls  up  the  other,  the  simul- 
taneous appearance  of  the  two  ideas  in  the  mental  field 
of  vision  may  lead  to  a  simultaneous  innervation  of  the 
respective  muscles  which  operate  the  organs  of  speech 
for  both.  This  innervation  will  not  be  of  exactly  the 
same  strength  for  both  sets  of  muscular  movements, 
and  the  actual  utterance  is,  of  course,  the  result  of  the 
movement  of  those  muscles  whose  innervation  was 
strongest.  Now,  whenever  the  strength  of  one  idea  re- 
mains uniformly  superior  during  the  whole  process  of  its 
transformation  into  the  spoken  word,  no  external  trace 
of  an  associative  interference  is  observed.  But  if  the 
relative  force  of  the  two  ideas  which  have  risen  simul- 
taneously in  the  field  of  vision  is  reversed  during  the 
process  of  utterance,  then  the  word  or  phrase  actually 
pronounced  reflects  partly  the  linguistic  symbol  of  one 
idea  and  partly  that  of  the  other.  We  have,  therefore, 
in  all  cases  of  associative  interference  a  sort  of  fusion, 
or,  still  better,  a  shunting,  because  the  innervation  of 
the  muscles  of  articulation  is  switched,  as  it  were,  from 
the  track  of  the  first  word  to  that  of  the  second.  Ger- 
man writers  frequently  refer  to  this  as  a  "  derailment " 
(Entgleisung),  an  expressive  term,  which  is  objection- 
11  161 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

able  only  on  the  ground  that  it  may  be  regarded  as 
implying  something  abnormal  and  disastrous,  while 
associative  interference  in  language  is  a  perfectly  normal 
process.  The  psychological  process  which  leads  to 
analogical  interference  may  be  graphically  illustrated  as 
follows  in  one  of  the  many  slips  of  the  tongue  collected 
and  discussed  by  Meringer  and  Mayer  (1895).  (That 
part  of  each  word  is  printed  in  capitals  which,  owing  to 
a  sufficient  innervation  of  the  muscles  of  articulation,  is 
actually  pronounced,  while  that  part  of  each  word 
which  is  only  mentally  present  but  not  linguistically 
realized  is  given  in  lower  case  type.  The  arrow  indi- 
cates the  course  of  effective  innervation.)1  A  person 
intends  to  say  "  Abschnitt,"  simultaneously  the  synonym 
"  Absatz  "  rises  in  his  mind,  by  a  lapsus  linguae  he  says 
"Abschnatt": 

\/ 

a      b      s      A      t      z 

In  exactly  the  same  way  the  Modern  English  "  night- 
ingale" (Old  English  "nihte-gale")  may  have  arisen  by 
associative  interference  of  "  evening  "  (Sweet)  and  Greek 
07TTG)  of  the  dialect  of  Elis  by  interference  of  ei 


{ 


V      1 

e    n    I    N     g 


•o  K  T 

/ 


n 

1  For  the  sake  of  convenience  the  conventional  spelling  has  been  kept  ; 
the  associations  are,  of  course,  not  of  letters  bat  of  sounds,  hence  phonetic 
spelling  would  be  more  appropriate. 

162 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

Such  analogical  interference  may  be  claimed  for  a 
number  of  words  which  belong  to  one  congeneric  class, 
as  when  an  original  *  oprai;  (cf .  Sanskrit  vartaka),  ac- 
cording to  Brugmann's  plausible  suggestion,  is  changed 
to  op-rug  after  KOKKV%,  t/8uf,  etc. 

'O-»P->T    a   H 

v; 

I     0  T'f 

But  in  the  majority  of  instances  new  members  of  a 
class  were  formed  at  the  very  outset  with  the  suffix  or 
other  formative  element  which  was  regarded  as  the  label 
of  that  particular  class,  so  that  these  are  the  result,  not 
of  analogical  interference,  but  of  analogical  creation. 
Words  like  the  Modern  English  "starveling,"  "world- 
ling" are  clearly  entirely  new  formations  after  an  old 
type  represented  by  Old  English  deorling,  much  in  the 
same  way  in  which  saxetum  was  formed  after  lauretum, 
aesculetum,  dumetum.  Psychologically  the  difference 
is  marked,  because  in  the  former  case  two  words  existed 
in  the  language,  and  the  form  of  one  was  slightly 
changed  to  conform  to  the  other;  in  the  latter  case  only 
one  word  existed  in  the  language  and  a  new  one  was 
created  after  its  model.  Analogy  here  does  not  inter- 
fere, but  it  guides  in  shaping  linguistic  innovation  and 
links  them  to  the  old  speech  material.  After  a  certain 
linguistic  stock  has  once  been  acquired  really  original 
additions  are  excessively  rare.  A  really  brand  new 
formation  is  so  rare  that  in  the  economy  of  actual  speech 
it  plays  almost  no  part  at  all ;  even  the  much  quoted  in- 
vention of  J.  B.  van  Helmont,  "gas,"  does  not  stand 
isolated,  for  he  says  himself:  "Ideo  paradoxi  licentia 
in  nominis  egestate  halitum  ilium  '  gas  '  vocavi  non  longe 
a  '  chao '  veterum  secretum." 

163 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

12  This  analogical  creation  may  be  either  direct  or  in- 
ferential. It  is  direct  when  a  new  form  is  immediately 
fashioned  after  an  already  existing  one,  as  in  all  cases 
cited  above.  In  cases  of  functional  analogy  we  start 
with  two  existing  derivatives  (formative  or  inflectional) 
of  the  same  root,  and,  taking  the  relation  of  these 
two  derivatives  to  each  other  as  a  model,  proceed  to 
form  similar  pairs.  From  the  series  "hold,  held, 
held,"  "meet,  met,  met,"  identity  of  the  past  par- 
ticiple and  the  preterite  may  be  inferred;  this  once 
accepted  and  applied  to  other  strong  verbs  yields  the 
vulgar  English  preterite  "I  seen";  and  conversely  the 
original  preterites,  "shone,"  "stood,"  "sat, "have,  in 
standard  Modern  English,  supplanted  the  original  past 
participles,  while  the  similar  use  of  "took  "  for  "taken," 
though  old,  is  regarded  as  vulgar.  The  relation  of  the 
present  vowel  in  "  bite  "  to  the  preterite  vowel  in  "  bit " 
suggests  in  Modern  English,  "lit"  as  preterite  to 
"light."  In  the  same  way  the  constant  relation  of  cer- 
tain nouns  to  verbs  derived  from  them  (e.  #.,  in  Greek 
rCpd  and  riftdco  for  *  ripd-i-ai)  leads  to  the  analogical 
creation  of  so-called  "noms  postverbaux"  (Brdal)  such 
as  fJTra  inferred  from  the  verb  ^-rrao^at  (itself  an  analog- 
ical adaptation  to  its  opposite  viicdofjiai  of  an  original 
which  was  derived  from  the  comparative 
as  e\aTTo'oyu.ai  from  eXda-crcov).  In  the  same  way 
the  English  formed  a  verb  "  to  sidle  up  to  "  from  the 
old  "sidelinge,"  which,  being  in  reality  an  adverb 
(=  sidelong  =  sideways),  was  regarded  as  a  present 
participle;  and  the  verb  "to  grovel  "from  the  adverb 
"grovelinge."  The  origin  of  what  Sweet  calls  "cur- 
tailed singulars"  is  based  upon  the  same  principle;  a 
radical  -s  being  mistaken  for  the  plural  termination,  a 
singular  is  formed  to  this  "apparent  plural,"  as  "pea" 

164 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL    CHANGES 

to  "pease  "  (=  the  Old  English,  collective,  weak,  plural 
pios-ari),  vulgar  "  chay  "  from  "  chaise, " l  "  Chinee  "  from 
"  Chinese. "  In  the  same  way  the  boy  observed  by  Lind- 
ner 2  and  the  girl  observed  by  Keber 3  formed  a  singular 
"  Amaus  "  to  the  "apparent  plural "  "  Ameise  "  after  the 
model  of  "  Maus  "  —  "  Mause  "  (with  the  du  in  South 
German  pronunciation  like  ei). 

Because  the  process  of  formation  of  these  complex 
analogical  creations  may  be  logically  represented  in  the 
form  of  a  proportion,  e.  g., 

Ti/J,ao[Acu   '.   Tt'/ia   I '.   r/Trdofjiat   I   rJTTa 

ax        :    av    ::       bx       :      ? 

it  is  usually  called  proportional  analogy.  The  earliest 
grammatical  notice  of  it  is  probably  in  a  scholion  of 
Proklos4  to  Plato's  Kratylos,  which  professes  to  be  a 
quotation  from  the  lost  works  of  Demokritos ;  according 
to  him  one  reason  why  language  should  be  regarded  as 
based  on  0eo-t<?  (agreement,  convention)  is  the  frequent 
lack  of  uniformity  of  formation  (fj  r<av  6/totW  e 
and  as  an  illustration  he  asks:  Sta  TI  atro 
$>povri(r€G><i  ~\.eyofj,ev  (frpovelv,  curb  8e  TT)?  Sucaiocrvvr)*;  ov/c 
en  Trapovo^d^onev,  a  clear  case  of  proportional  analogy: 
(j)pdvr)<ri<>  '-  <f>poveiv  '. '.  Btrcaiocrvvr)  I '.  *  Siicaielv 

ax      :       av      ::        lx        ::         f 
On  the  basis  of  the  linguistic  data  it  is  frequently  im- 

1  "  How  shall  we  go  ?  "  inquired  the  captain ;  "  it  is  too  warm  to  walk." 
"  A  chay  1 "  suggested   Mr.  Joseph   Tuggs.     "  Chaise,"  whispered  Mr. 
Cymon.    "  I  should  think  one  would  he  enough,"  said  Mr.  Joseph  Tuggs 
aloud,  quite  unconscious  of  the  meaning  of  the  correction.     "  However, 
two  chays  if  you  like."    Dickens'  Sketches,   p.  346,  quoted  by  Storm, 
Engl.  Philol.  (2d  ed.),  p.  800. 

2  Aus  dem  Naturgarten  der  Kindersprache  (1898),  p.  101. 

8  Zur  Philosophic  der  Kindersprache  (1890),  p.  33.  Both  quoted  by 
Ament,  Die  Entwicklung  von  Sprechen  u.  Denken  beim  Kinde  (1899), 
p.  166. 

*  Lehrs,  Sprachphilosophie  d.  Alten,  I,  p.  13 ;  II,  p.  5. 

165 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

possible  to  distinguish  between  cases  of  analogical  inter- 
ference and  of  analogical  creation.  In  the  case  of 
Modern  English  "depth"  and  "length,"  for  instance, 
we  can  hardly  decide  the  question  whether  they  were 
entirely  new  analogical  formations  from  the  adjectives 
"  deep. "  and  "  long  "  or  analogical  adaptations  of  the 
already  existing  Old  English  forms  "  diepe "  and 
"lengu"  to  the  type  represented  by  Old  English 
"treowj?,"  ">iefj>."  But  this  apparent  likeness  of  the 
results  does  not  imply  likeness  of  the  psychological 
processes. 

13  Phonetic  alterations  which  are  the  result  of  associa- 
tion by  sense  alone  are  comparatively  small.  The 
obvious  reason  is  that  the  purely  semantic  tie  by  which 
such  words  are  held  together  is  not  effective  enough  to 
produce  an  actual  derailment  of  the  innervation.  For 
an  analogical  change  of  gender  it  seems  sufficient,  so 
that  Latin  "  aestatem  "  changes  its  feminine  gender  in 
French  in  order  to  accommodate  itself  to  the  mascu- 
lines "automne,"  "hiver,"and  "printemps"  simply  be- 
cause it  belongs  to  the  same  semantic  group,  an 
adaptation  which  is  responsible  for  much  shifting  in 
gender.  In  the  same  way  the  meaning  of  a  word  may 
be  analogically  changed  so  as  to  conform  with  that  of 
another  word  semantically  associated  with  it.  When,1 
for  instance,  constantia  was  used  metaphorically  to 
denote  a  certain  mental  quality,  it  "induced"  a  similar 
change  in  its  opposite2  mobilitas.  In  the  process  of 
speech  mixture  the  close  association  of  two  partly 

1  Cf.  e.  g.,  Karl  Schmidt,  Die  Griinde  des  Bedentnngswandels  (in  the 
Program  of  the  Kgl.  Realgymnasium  zu  Berlin,  1893-94),  p.  32. 

2  Cf.  in  general  on  the  associative  interference  of  contrasted  words, 
Brugmann,  in  the  Index  to  the  Grundriss,  p.  169,  s.  t.  "  Ausgleichung 
gegensatzlicher  Begriffe,"  and  Sitz.  Berichte  d.  Kgl.  Ges.  d.  Wiss.  (II), 
1898,  p.  185. 

166 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

synonymous  words  belonging  to  two  different  languages 
often  produces  important  semantic  changes  by  changing 
the  semantic  area  of  one  of  them  so  as  to  make  it  abso- 
lutely conform  with  that  of  the  other.  So  Mrs.  Hum- 
phry Ward1  uses  "overdrive"  in  the  sense  of  the 
German  " iibertreiben "  (=  "exaggerate")  when  she 
says  "overdriven  rationalism,"  and  "you  overdrive 
your  duties."2  But  phonetic  alterations  will  in  most 
cases  be  found  to  involve  a  partial  likeness  of  form  as 
well  as  semantic  similarity.  The  reason  for  this  is  that 
a  sound  or  syllable  which  the  two  associated  words  have 
in  common  offers  a  point  of  contact,  the  switch,  so  to 
speak,  by  which  the  stronger  innervation  of  the  first 
word  is  transferred  to  the  second,  because  in  this  par- 
ticular sound  or  syllable  the  strong  innervation  of  the 
first  word  reinforces  that  of  the  second. 

So  in  the  lapsus  reported  by  Meringer  and  Mayer: 
"Ich  habe  eine  Empfohlung  an  Sie." 


Sie  sind  mir 

E-M-PF  eh,L-u-N^A-N-s-IE 

±J     JU     J-J-^QHlen          worden 

Or  in  the  following  of  Bishop  Potter  (27th  January, 
1901),  "evoid"  which  he  immediately  corrected  to 
"both  avoid  and  evade." 

f-»E- 
l      a 

1  Cf.  Kellner,  in  Verhandl.  d.  Versamml.  deut.  Philolog.,  etc,  zu  Wien. 
(1893),  p.  426.    Breal,  Essai  de  Semantique,  p.  146,  with  note. 

2  Other  cases  in  K.  Schmidt,  Die  Griinde  des  Bedeutungswandels, 
p.  30-31,  Schnchardt,  Slavodeutsches  und  Slavoitalienisch.es  (1885).    Cf. 
Paul,  Principien,  p.  375,  §  283. 

167 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

In  exactly  the  same  way  the  original  Greek  *  rpiaKaa-roi 
(where  the  a  in  *  -icaa-ros  reflects  a  syllabic  w,  cf. 
Sanskrit  trin-pattama)  is  affected  by  rptdKovra  and  be- 

comes T/3ta/CO<7T09  : 


Again,  to  the  Sanskrit  pveta,  "white,"  according  to  a 
very  plausible  suggestion  of  Bloomfield,  a  collateral 
form  fyeta,  "reddish  white,"  arose  by  associative  inter- 
ference of  pyamd,  "black." 


0 


v    E->T->A 

/• 
->Y   a    m     a 


This  is  the  reason  why  examples  for  Wheeler's  fifth 
class  (likeness  of  signification  and  partial  likeness  of 
form)  are  so  plentiful  and  why  analogy  exercises  so 
strong  an  influence  over  slightly  differing  forms  of  the 
same  stem  in  the  inflectional  system.  Everything  is 
here  in  favor  of  associative  interference;  the  meaning 
of  the  words,  which  is  not  only  similar  but  identical,  and 
their  form,  which  differs  in  only  a  few  particulars.  As 
the  short  vowel  in  the  Modern  English  "  shed  "  was  in- 
troduced from  the  preterite  (Middle  English  "scheden," 
preterite  "schadde,"  "schedde"),  so  the  Greek  TrerrXo^e 
gave  way  to  TreVXe^e  with  its  e  from  the  present.  As 
the  Modern  English  preterite  "sang"  continues  the 
vowel  of  the  Middle  English  preterite  singular  through 
the  plural,  while  Modern  English  "bound"  carries  the 
plural  vowel  into  the  singular,  so  in  Greek  the  o-grade 
which  belongs  to  the  perfect  singular  eoi/ca  is  carried 
into  the  plural  eoi/ca/tez/,  while  the  weak  form  which 

168 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 


belongs  to  the  plural  enters  the  singular  in 
(The  proper  distribution  is  seen  in  otSa,  i'8/<iei>.)  As  the 
unvoiced  finals  has,  in  Modern  English,  been  continued 
in  the  genitive  singular,  e.  g.,  "wife's"  (instead  of 
"wive's,"  cf.  "calve's"  in  "calve's-foot  ")  and  even  in 
the  plural  in  some  words  like  "  turfs  "  (for  earlier 
"  turves  "),  so  the  Latin  sigmatic  stem  arbos-  changes 
in  the  nominative  singular  its  final  «  to  r  because  of  the 
r  in  the  oblique  cases,  and  Homeric  Trarepos  has  bor- 
rowed the  vocalization  of  its  suffix  (-rep-  for  -rp-)  from 
the  accusative  trarepa,  while  in  the  Homeric  accusative 
Otxyarpa  the  vocalization  of  the  accusative  suffix  is  that 
of  the  genitive. 

The  result  of  this  process  of  levelling  which  constantly 
and  extensively  goes  on  in  language  is  the  gradual  re- 
moval of  differences  which  are  not  significant  as  forma- 
tive elements,  but  either  have  always  been  purely 
phonetic  or  have  lost  their  formative  value.  The 
distinction,  for  instance,  between  strong  and  weak  forms 
of  the  suffixes  in  declension,  which  plays  so  prominent 
a  part  in  some  Indo-European  languages  and  which  is 
due  to  differences  of  accentuation,  is  constantly  losing 
ground  where  it  is  devoid  of  all  formative  value; 
in  Italic,  e.  g.,  the  triple  form  of  vocalization  of  the 
suffix  -tor-,  -tor-,  -tr-  (represented  by  Sanskrit  accusative 
singular  ddtdram,  locative  singular  datari,  and  dative 
singular  datre)  has  given  way  in  declension  to  the 
uniform  -tor-:  Latin  dator  (where  the  o  is  secondarily 
shortened,  because  it  stands  in  a  final  syllable),  datorem, 
datori  ;  the  weakest  form  -tr-  has  been  preserved  in  a 
few  derivatives  like  Latin  vic-tr-i-x  from  vic-tor,  Um- 
brian  uh-tr-etie,  where  the  Latin  parallel  auc-tor-itas 
shows  the  strongest  form.  The  vowel  gradation  of  our 
strong  verbs,  on  the  other  hand,  which  is  due  to  the 

169 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

same  accentual  causes,  has  suffered  less  wherever  the 
difference  of  vocalization  became  of  functional  impor- 
tance, because  the  different  vowels  were  felt  to  be  the 
carriers  of  the  tense  distinction.  The  degree  of  func- 
tional importance  may  be  said  to  be  proportional  to  the 
power  of  resistance  against  analogical  levelling.1 
14  As  we  associate  words  which  stand  for  more  or  less 
similar  ideas,  so  we  associate  words  and  phrases  which 
stand  for  the  same,  or  practically  the  same,  idea.  For 
semantic  identity  (synonymy)  is  evidently  the  highest 
degree  of  semantic  similarity.  The  associations  by 
identity,  either  of  synonyms  of  the  same  language  (as 
"  beginning  "  and  "  commencement ")  or  of  correspond- 
ing words  of  different  languages  (as  "  king "  and 
"  Konig  "  and  "  rex  "),  would  therefore  belong  here,  as  a 
special  group  within  the  intrinsic  associations  by  sense, 
rather  than  with  the  extrinsic  associations  where  they 
are  placed  by  Aschaffenburg. 

Where  two  words  have  all  semantic  elements  in  com- 
mon, the  associative  tie  between  them  must  be  propor- 
tionately stronger  than  that  which  binds  together  in  a 
congeneric  group  terms  which  are  semantically  similar 
only.  So  that,  even  without  any  additional  formal 
similaritjr,  analogical  interference  might  be  expected. 
But  here  also  analogical  interference  is  usually  con- 
nected with  additional  partial  formal  similarity,  and  it 
is  not  at  all  certain  that  ijo-rat,  "  he  sits  "  (but  Sanskrit 
dste),  acquired  its  rough  breathing  directly  from  its 
association  with  the  synonymous  root  eS-,  "  to  sit. "  The 
first  step  here  may  have  been  a  conversion  of  the  r  to  9 
in  KadrjTai  due  to  its  association  with  /cade&Tai,  and  a 

1  The  belief  that  strong  verbs  are  constantly  yielding  to  weak  ones  is 
not  well  founded.  Popular  speech  transfers  oftener  than  is  assumed 
weak  verbs  to  the  strong  conjugation. 

170 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

decomposition   of   /cddijTai   into   KaT-rj(cr)Tai  may  have 
given  the  rough  breathing  to  the  simplex. 

When  the  alteration  produced  by  this  association  of 
homonyms  is  slight,  and  one  of  the  two  words  retains  by 
far  the  largest  part  of  its  original  form,  as  in  the  in- 
stance just  given,  this  process  still  goes  by  the  name  of 
analogy  formation.  When,  however,  the  associative 
interference  of  the  second  word  is  stronger  and  both 
synonyms  have  about  equal  share  in  the  creation  of  the 
new  form,  we  are  accustomed  to  speak  of  contamination. 
An  instance  of  the  latter  would  be  "the  labor  saving 
and  much  needed  word  thoughtlessly  invented  by  the 
sable  legislator  of  South  Carolina,"  insinuendo  (from 
"  insinuation  "  and  "  innuendo  "),  which  Brander  Mat- 
thews 1  has  preserved,  or  the  "  soupspicion  "  (from  French 
"  soup§onner  "  and  English  "  suspicion  ")  of  one  of  G.  W. 
Cable's2  Creole  characters,  or  Stockton's  "whirlicane" 
(from  "  hurricane  "  and  "  whirlwind  ").  Yet  the  psychi- 
cal process  is  the  same  in  both  cases.  The  difference 
lies  merely  in  this  fact,  that  in  those  cases  which  we 
call  analogical  changes  there  is  a  shunting  back  to  the 
original  word,  or  the  shunting  occurs  at  the  very  close 
of  the  word,  so  that  the  foreign  element  introduced  is 
necessarily  very  small,  while  in  contaminations  the 
innervation  of  the  speech-muscles  once  shifted  from  the 
original  word  to  its  associated  synonym,  continues  to 
travel  along  the  track  of  the  latter,  and  as  a  con- 
sequence produces  a  more  thorough  change.  In  either 
case  we  have  a  fusion,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  following 
diagrams,  in  which  again  capitals  mark  what  is  actually 
uttered,  while  the  lower  case  types  mark  the  parallel 
track  of  the  associated  word  or  phrase  which  is  not  re- 

1  Pen  and  Ink  (1888),  p.  57. 

2  Old  Creole  Days  (1887),  p.  161. 

171 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

fleeted  in  language.  Compare,  for  instance,  the  dia- 
gram of  Meringer  and  Mayer's  "contamination"  "auf- 
stb'ssig  "  with  the  "analogy-change  "  "  Abschnatt " 

{-»A->U-»F  f  a  1  1  e  n  d 
a  n    S->T->OE-»S->S-»I->G 

r->A-»B->SCH->N  i  TT 

V  /* 
(  a    b    s  A  t  z 

and  their  "iiberstaunt "  with  Matthews'  "insinuendo" 

(  -»UE-»B->Tn     T)     r  a  s  c  h  t 

I  -EJ~*-fr-»S-»T-»AU->N-»T 

Because  of  this  absolute  identity  of  the  process  by 
which  both  analogical  interference  and  contamination 
arise,  Meringer  and  Mayer  have  done  wisely  not  to 
separate  them,  but  treat  all  such  cases  under  the  gen- 
eral heading  of  Contamination,  distinguishing,  however, 
between  the  coalescence  (Verschmelzung)  of  two  paral- 
lel words  or  phrases  and  the  intersection  (Schneidung) 
of  two  parallel  words  or  phrases  in  one  sound. 

The  fusion  of  phrases,  which  is  of  importance  because 
it  may  produce  syntactical  changes  of  construction, 
proceeds  along  these  same  lines:  e.  g.,  the  contamina- 
tion in  a  recent  issue  of  Labouchere's  Truth  (Jan. 
17,  1901,  p.  133),  "living  in  what  to  the  Chinese  is 
regarded  as  wealth  "  is  the  result  of  the  two  phrases 

LT7INQ->ra->WHAT->TO->THB— >CHDfE8B  seems     wealth  ^ 


Living     in     what     by     the     Chinese  IS->REGARDED-»AS-» WEALTH ) 

172 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

Similarly  in  Max  Halbe's  Mutter  Erde  (p.  118), 
"  Meinethalben  lass  er  reden  "  from 

(MEINETHALBEN-*  LASS  ihn  reden 

\ 
(        meinethalben  mag    ER-+ REDEN 

But  the  same  page  of  the  same  play  furnishes  an 
example  where  the  original  phrase  is  left  only  for  an 
instant  and  then  resumed :  "  Mit  der  Predigt  scheint  als 
wenn's  lang  dauert "  from 

(MIT-»DER-»PKEDIGT      scheint's      ALS  WENN'S  LANG  DAUERT 

\  / 

Die  Predigt  SCHEINT       lang  zu  dauern 

In  the  Viennese  of  Schnitzler's  "  Freiwild  "  a  past 
participle  "wollen"  (for  "gewollt")  is  so  developed. 
First  in  phrases  like  "  Der  hat  ja  fort  wollen  "  (p.  16) 
for 

(  DER  ->  HAT  -»  JA  -»  FORT  gewollt 

4  ^ 

I  Der    hat    ja    fort    gehen    WOLLEN 

and  then  independently  in  "  Was  hat  dieser  Mann  von 
Dir  wollen?"  (p.  147)  and  "Was  hat  man  von  dir 
wollen?"  (p.  148).  To  judge  from  the  Fliegende 
Blatter,  the  Bavarian  of  Munich  seems  to  contaminate 
consistently 

(ICH^HAB'-»AN-»DICH  gar  nicht  gedacht,  and 
ilch  hab'  dich  ^GANZ^VERGESSEN 

In  the  same  way  arose  Latin  constructions  like  the 
isolated  genitives  with  "recordari  "  in  Cicero  after  "non 
oblivisci," 

I  RECORD  ATUS-»SUM    flagitia  ea 

(non     oblitus     sum      ^FLAGITIORUM->EORUM 

173 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

or  the  strange  construction  which  passes  all  parsing, 
"mea  interest"  after  "mea  refert." 

15  Just  as  two  words  or  two  phrases  of  the  same  mean- 
ing may  produce  a  new  word  or  phrase  which  contains 
parts  of  both  of  its  parents,  so  also  the  structure  of 
grammatical  paradigms  does  not  escape  contamination. 
It  is  under  this  larger  aspect  that  the  phenomena  of 
"composite  inflection'*  (to  which  Osth off,  in  his  sug- 
gestive monograph  (1899)  on  what  he  terms  "  Supple- 
tivwesen,"  has  lately  called  renewed  attention)  should 
be  viewed.  The  term  "  composite  inflection  "  desig- 
nates those  cases  in  which  the  paradigm  of  a  word  is  not 
based  upon  the  same  stem  throughout,  but  in  which 
either  different  derivatives  of  the  same  root  or  two 
entirely  different  roots  are  fused  into  one  paradigmatic 
whole.  For  by  apparently  the  same  process  are  com- 
bined an  w-stem  and  an  r-stem  in  the  declension  of  the 
singular  of  ovOap,  ovOaros  (for  ovdnros) ;  a  vocalic  stem 
for  the  singular  and  an  8-stem  for  the  plural  in  the 
declension  of  w-s,  vir-es  (for  *  ms-es) ;  the  stems  mag- 
nifico-  and  magnificent-  in  the  comparison  of  this  adjec- 
tive :  magnificus,  magnificentissimus  ;  the  stems  fini-  for 
the  infinitive  and  *  finisc-  for  the  imperfect  in  the  French 
conjugation  of  verbs  of  the  fourth  class:  "finir,"  "je 
finissais";  and  finally  two  entirely  different  stems  in 
mains  and  pessimus,  "bad"  and  "worse,"  furio  and 
insanlvi,  "go"  and  "went." 

Curtius,  who  was  the  first  to  discuss  this  last  variety 
of  composite  inflection  (namely,  where  two  or  more 
different  roots  are  fused  in  one  paradigm,  e.  g.,  o/oato, 
ISetv,  o^oyttat),  suggested,  in  1858,  the  following  expla- 
nation :  All  general  ideas  result  from  a  combination  of 
individual  ones.  The  general  idea  of  "going"  is 
abstracted  from  the  ideas  of  "walking,"  "running," 

174 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

"stepping,"  etc.  Individual  ideas  are  therefore  older 
than  the  general  ideas  which  are  based  upon  them. 
"  To  attempt  to  derive  the  multitude  of  individual  ideas 
from  general  ideas  would  mean  to  upset  everything  that 
has  been  established  since  W.  v.  Humboldt."  (A  most 
sound  remark,  which  applies,  of  course,  with  equal 
force  to  all  attempts  at  deriving  the  meaning  of  cases, 
tenses,  or  modes  from  some  fundamental  meaning,  a 
"  Grundbedeutung, "  an  attempt  which  has  value  as  a 
logical  exercise  but  no  place  in  a  historical  investigation). 
"Such  a  theory,"  Curtius  proceeds,  "may  also  be  re- 
futed by  the  lexicon  of  the  Indo-European  languages. 
If  these  languages  had  started  from  a  set  of  fundamen- 
tal abstract  ideas  we  should  expect  only  one  root  for 
each  one  of  them,  from  which,  perhaps,  a  number  of 
different  derivatives  might  be  formed,  as  the  general 
idea  became  more  and  more  individualized.  Just 
the  opposite,  however,  is  the  case.  For  the  general 
dea  of  '  going '  in  the  Indo-European  languages 
is  expressed  by  a  variety  of  roots  which  phonetically 
are  entirely  independent  of  each  other.  The  two  most 
common  ones,  Greek  I-  and  /3a-,  are  even  in  Homeric 
times  ...  so  clearly  differentiated  that  they  can  be 
united  into  phrases  like  y8aW  Wi,  /3r)  levai.  .  .  .  From 
the  existence  of  different  words  we  may  infer  the  exist- 
ence of  originally  different  ideas.  The  Indo-Europeans, 
therefore,  had  terms  for  individual  modifications  of 
4  going  '  before  they  reached  the  general  abstract  idea. 
The  same  process  is  found  everywhere.  The  idea  of 
'  seeing  '  is  for  the  Greeks  so  far  from  being  one  that 
they  resort  to  three  verbs  in  order  to  express  it  in  the 
different  tenses.  The  momentary  '  catching  sight  of 
thing  '  they  denote  by  ISelv,  the  durative  '  gazing  at  a 
thing  '  by  opdo)  .  .  . ;  when  they  desired  to  refer  to  the 

175 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

future,  and  occasionally  also  to  the  completed  action, 
they  made  use  of  the  root  OTT-.  Only  by  means  of  these 
three  were  they  able  to  express  the  idea  of  seeing.  Nor 
were  other  verbs  for  the  same  idea  wanting,  which,  in 
turn,  denoted  other  modifications  .  .  from  the  combi- 
nation of  which  the  general  idea  developed.  He  who  is 
not  intentionally  blind  learns  from  such  facts  that 
multiplicity  precedes  unity,  and  will  give  up  all 
attempts  at  operating  with  general '  fundamental '  ideas, 
a  method  which  is  just  as  absurd  in  the  domain  of 
semantics  as  is  the  endeavor  to  reduce  phonetically  the 
mass  of  really  existing  roots  to  a  limited  number  of 
primitive  roots  (Urformen)." 

In  this  note  worthy  passage1  are  contained  all  the  germs 
of  the  subsequent  explanations  of  Tobler  (I860),2  Heer- 
degen  (1890) 3  and  Osthoff  (1899).  They  all  substan- 
tially agree  that  "slight  alterations  in  meaning  lie  at  the 
bottom  of  composite  inflection."  This  is  undoubtedly 
true  for  a  number  of  cases.  Languages  which,  like  the 
early  Indo-European,  made  much  of  the  distinction  of 
the  kind  of  verbal  action4  must  have  found  that  in  com- 
bining this  with  a  tense-system  certain  tenses  were  par- 
ticularly suited  to  certain  kinds  of  actions  (e.  g.,  the 
present  tense  to  the  durative  kind  of  action),  while 
others  were  antagonistic.  And  if  differences  in  the 
kind  of  action  were  really  expressed  at  the  outset  by  a 
different  set  of  roots  (as  Curtius  suggested  for  opdo>  and 
ISelv)  the  unavoidable  result  must  have  been  to  set  aside 
certain  roots  for  certain  tenses.  No  aorist  could  be 

1  Curtius,  Grundziige  (1858),  p.  78. 

2  In  Kuhn's  Zt,  IX  (1860),  p.  241. 

8  In  Reisig's  Vorlesnngen  iiber  lateinische  Sprachwissenschaft,  neu 
bearbeitet  v.  F.  Heerdegen,  II  (1890),  p.  87  f.  Cf.  also  Brugmann's 
Griech.  Gramm8.  (in  I.  v.  Miiller's  Handbuch),  p.  481,  §  541. 

*  Cf.  Herbig,  Aktionsart  u.  Zeitstufe  in  Indog.  Forsch.,  VI,  p.  157. 
176 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

formed  from  6/>ao>,  no  present  from  ISeiv,  just  as 
/3t/3a£a>  is  confined  to  the  present  tense,  and  no  contin- 
uative  imperfect  persuadebam  can  be  formed  from  per- 
suadere,  because  the  former  implies  iterative,  the  latter 
perfective  action.  The  composite  inflection  is  here  due 
to  an  inherent  semantic  defectiveness  of  the  verb. 

Parallel  to  this  go  cases  where  the  formal  defectiveness 
of  the  verb  necessitates  borrowing.  So  locutus  supplies 
the  active  perfect  participle  to  dicere,  "  I  was  compelled," 
the  preterite  to  the  preterito-present  "  I  must, "  usurpari 
the  passive  to  the  deponent  uti,  as  in  Cicero's  Orator 
(LI.  169):  "postinventa  conclusio  est,  qua  credo  usuros 
veteres  illos  f uisse,  si  iam  nota  et  usurpata  res  esset, " 
for  the  two  words  were  synonymous  and  interchangeable 
in  the  active  also,  as  in  Cicero's  Philippic  (I.  I.  1): 
"  Graecum  verbum  usurpavi,  quo  turn  in  sedandis  dis- 
cordiis  usa  erat  civitas  ilia." 

Nor  is  it  necessary  that  these  formal  deficiencies  should 
be  primary.  Folio  and  arguo  could  have  formed  their 
own  past  participles,  but  on  account  of  the  adjectives 
falsus  and  argutus  they  were  forced  to  substitute  decep- 
tus  and  convictus  respectively.  Such  secondary  deficien- 
cies, due  to  the  loss  of  forms,  must  have  been  a  fruitful 
source  of  composite  inflection.  It  will  probably  be 
found  that  a  greater  number  of  cases  belong  here  than 
to  the  preceding  class.  In  eveiy  case  the  problem  is  to 
determine  the  causes  which  led  to  the  loss  of  a  form. 

Semantic  deficiency  is  also  largely  assumed  for  the 
cases  of  composite  comparison  (e.  g.,  "good,"  "worse  "). 
Brugmann,  for  instance,  holds  that  "  ayaOos,  apeiav  and 
d/ueu>&>i>,  a/jto-ro?  were  fused  into  one  system  because 
one  adjective  on  account  of  its  root-meaning  was 
incapable  of  supplying  all  forms  necessary  for  the  sys- 
tem." It  is  very  doubtful,  however,  if  it  is  safe  to 
12  177 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 


apply  this  principle  uniformly  to  all  classes  of  com- 
posite comparison.  It  would,  perhaps,  be  better  to 
distinguish  here  between  at  least  three  different  classes, 
namely,  (1)  cases  of  clear  semantic  defectiveness, 

(2)  cases  in  which  comparison  implies  semantic  change, 

(3)  cases  in  which  semantic  change  implies  comparison. 
Cases  of  semantic  defectiveness  we  have  wherever  the 

adjective  stands  for  an  idea  "which,"  in  Tobler's  words, 
"  both  as  regards  quantity  and  quality  implies  complete- 
ness, because  it  stands  for  a  quality  which  has  reached 
the  limit  of  all  development  and  precludes  comparison 
.  .  .  and  it  would  appear  that  a  stem  which  stood  for 
such  a  complete  idea  (der  die  totalitat  bezeichnende 
stamm)  was  exempt  from  comparison."  Clear  cases  are 
"dead,"  "half,"  "vivus,"  "aureus."  That  adjectives 
like  "aya&fc,"  "malus,"  "good,"  lack  forms  of  com- 
parison, because  "the  homespun  wit  of  the  people  in 
partial  agreement  with  subsequent  philosophy,  dimly 
divined  that  qualities  like  'good'  and  'bad,'  'much' 
and  '  little, '  were  absolute  and  complete  ",(Tobler)  is  not 
impossible,  but  seems  questionable  and  at  least  unproven. 
The  second  class  in  which  gradation  causes  a  con- 
comitant semantic  change  might  be  graphically  repre- 
sented by  this  diagram, 


Degrees  of 
comparison 

Semantic 
area 
I 

Semantic 
area 
II 

3.    Superlative 

t 

/ 

2.    Comparative 

/ 

1.   Positive 

No.l.  No.  2. 

178 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL  CHANGES 

where  the  dotted  arrow  No.  1  illustrates  comparison 
without,  and  the  arrow  No.  2  comparison  with,  semantic 
change.  Such  semantic  changes  were  not  necessarily 
intellectual,  i.  e.,  connected  with  the  logical  side  of  the 
concept;  they  were,  perhaps,  oftener  of  an  emotional 
character.  When  in  Sanskrit  the  idea  of  "  good  "  was 
raised  to  the  comparative  and  superlative  degrees,  the 
emotional  element  of  desire  may  have  become  more 
prominent,1  hence  the  comparative  variyas  and  the 
superlative  varistha  from  the  root  ^/var  "  to  prefer  " ; 
if  the  connection  of  Oscan  valaimo-,  "best,"  with  Latin 
velle  is  correct,  this  would  be  a  similar  case;  Latin 
pessimua  and  peior,  whose  connection  with  ped-  Thur- 
neysen  has  lately  vindicated,  would  furnish  another 
parallel.  When  the  idea  of  "  bad  "  is  raised  to  the 
comparative  and  superlative  the  idea  of  inferiority  in  a 
struggle  enters;  pessimus  is  he  who  is  sub  pedibus  (Ov. 
met.,  XIV.  490),  or  the  person  "spurned."  This  process 
by  which  a  given  idea  suffers  semantic  modification  by 
passing  through  the  stages  of  gradation  is  psychologi- 
cally different  from  that  of  the  third  group. 

This  is  made  up  of  words  which  stand  for  originally 
independent  ideas,  which,  however,  may  be  fitted  into 
a  graded  system.  In  Latin  postulo  (in  the  Comic  Poets 
often  not  stronger  than  volo  ;  so  Terence,  Andria,  238), 
posco,  and  flagito  ;  ingredi,  currere,  and  advolare  ;  abire, 
excedere,  evadere,  and  erumpere  may  be  grouped,  as  is 
done  here,  in  an  ascending  series  which  corresponds 
essentially  to  the  gradation  of  our  adjectives,  a  similarity 
which  has  led  Sanskrit  grammarians  to  sanction  the  use 
of  the  adjectival  suffixes  of  comparison  in  the  adver- 
bial accusative  feminine  with  conjugational  forms,  e.  <?., 
pacati,  "he  cooks," pacatitaram,  "he  cooks  better, "as  if 

1  Cf.  below  on  the  change  of  dominant  elements,  p.  309. 
179 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

one  were  to  say  in  Latin  *  coquit-ius.  Just  as  the  verbs 
quoted  above,  so  the  adjectives  patiens,  durus,  and  cru- 
delis form  an  ascending  series  at  the  beginning  of  one  of 
Pliny's  letters  (II.  x.  1) :  "  Hominem  te  patientem,  vel 
potius  durum  ac  paene  crudelem,"  where  Doring  (1843) 
very  properly  notes  that  durus  and  crudelis  form  the 
comparison  to  patiens  ;  in  other  words,  patiens  is  positive, 
durus  comparative,  crudelis  superlative,  with  this  pecu- 
liarity that  the  comparison  is  not  formally  expressed.  A 
good  example  of  this  kind  is  the  comparative  apeivov  to 
the  positive  ayaBov.  "Ap-avov,  according  to  Brugmann's 
convincing  explanation,  is  the  neuter  singular  of  an 
adjective  stem  a/j,ei-vo-  which  semantically  may  have 
borne  the  same  relation  to  cvyaOo-  which  durus  bore  to 
patiens.  When  it  entered  into  a  lasting  union  with 
ayaOos  as  its  comparative  its  form  was  very  naturally 
adapted  to  the  comparatives  in  masculine  -«*>,  neuter  -oi>, 
and  the  adjective  *  ajuet-vo-?,  apu-vo-v  changed  to  apet- 
v-cov,  apei-v-ov. 

It  is  impossible  to  decide  always  whether  a  given  case 
belongs  to  the  second  or  the  third  of  these  classes, 
because  although  the  psychological  processes  vary,  the 
results  are  often  externally  alike. 

There  seems  to  be  no  warrant  for  believing  that  all 
cases  of  composite  inflection  must  be  due  to  one  of  the 
causes  suggested  by  Curtius,  and  for  assuming  with 
Cauer  that  wherever  the  composite  inflection  of  verbs 
cannot  at  present  be  justified  upon  Curtius'  theory,  the 
fault  lies  with  our  defective  knowledge  of  the  original 
and  primitive  meaning  of  the  stems  in  question,  which 
does  not  affect  the  principle  of  explanation.  Such  a 
view  is  methodologically  unsound  and  has  led  to  a 
harmful  inflation  of  many  a  theory  which  was  adequate 
for  the  explanation  of  some  cases,  but  naturally  collapsed 

180 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

when  it  was  made  to  account  for  things  which  had  only 
an  external  similarity. 

In  the  discussion  of  analogical  interferences  of  words 
and  phrases,  we  have  had  a  sufficient  number  of  cases 
in  which  two  associated  words  or  phrases  were  more  or 
less  fused  with  each  other.  It  is  impossible  to  give  in 
every  case  the  reason  why  this  fusion  actually  did  take 
place ;  while  we  are  entitled  to  infer  ex  post  facto  an 
unusually  close  association  as  the  root  of  analogical 
interference,  the  exact  causes  for  this  closeness  in  a 
given  individual  case  often  remain  hidden.  In  exactly 
the  same  way  in  inflection,  different  derivatives  and 
different  roots  are  often  fused,  not  because  there  was 
any  need  of  doing  so,  but  because  the  speaker  uninten- 
tionally slid  from  one  synonym  to  the  other.  And  as 
we  saw  that  phonetic  similarity  is  a  great  inducement 
for  analogical  interference  between  semantically  similar 
words,  so  we  may  also  note  that  in  composite  inflection 
the  combination  of  different  derivatives  of  the  same  root 
is  more  frequent  than  that  of  entirely  different  roots. 
This  process  of  unification  of  different  stems  and  roots 
into  one  inflectional  system  must  not  be  studied  in  the 
most  remote  and  prehistoric  times  of  language,  but  in 
languages  whose  history  lies  open  before  us.  Here,  as 
in  all  questions  of  dynamic  principles,  we  must  study 
the  living  organism,  not  anatomical  specimens.  And 
on  the  basis  of  more  material  than  is  at  present  avail- 
able, it  may  be  possible  to  trace  the  various  steps  which 
led  to  composite  inflection ;  how,  for  instance,  two  verbs 
which  at  first  were  similar  in  meaning  became  fully 
synonymous  and  therefore  interchangeable  in  certain 
surroundings,  were  then  easily  fused  in  their  inflection, 
until  the  forms  of  one  came  to  be  preferred  for  some 
parts  of  the  inflectional  system,  and  finally,  in  the 

181 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

extremes!  cases,  gained  sole  and  absolute  control  over 
their  territory.  Such  investigation  would  lie  on  the 
border  line  of  style  and  grammar,  and  by  imperceptible 
stages  lead  from  the  former  to  the  latter. 

Attention  has  been  called  to  the  convergence  of  mean- 
ing and  synonymous  use  of  usurpare  and  uti  by  which 
the  former  supplies  formal  deficiencies  (the  passive)  of 
the  latter.  But  in  the  similar  case  of  facio  and  fio  no 
deficiency  of  the  former  explains  the  fact  that,  in  Italic, 
a  part  of  the  passive  has  been  pre-empted  by  fio.  That 
*  facior  is  neither  formally  nor  semantically  impossible  is 
shown  by  factus  and  faciendus  (for  sporadic  forms  like 
Titinius'  faciatur  are  hardly  remnants  of  an  earlier  com- 
plete inflection).  We  have  here  an  extreme  case,  the  end 
and  final  result  of  inflectional  contamination.  Faint 
beginnings  of  the  same  process,  which,  however,  was 
arrested  too  soon  to  leave  any  grammatical  traces,  may 
be  found  in  the  use  of  perhiberi,  which  in  the  Latin 
Comedians,  notably  in  Plautus,  is  frequent  for  did,  as 
in  Terence's  Adelphi  (iii.  4,  58  =  504),  "si  vos  voltis 
perhiberi  probos "  and  Plautus'  Poenulus  (i.  2,  31), 
"  Soror,  cogita,  amabo,  item  nos  perhiberi,  Quam  si  salsa 
muriatica  esse  autumantur."  Here  are  germs  from 
which  perhiberi  might  have  developed  into  a  passive  to 
dicere,  gradually  crowding  out  all  or  some  of  the  forms 
of  did  and  permanently  substituting  its  own.  In  ex- 
actly such  a  way  percussi  became  the  perfect  to  ferio, 
English  went  the  preterite  to  go. 

These  cases  are  parallel  to  the  substitution  of  bene 
audire  for  the  passive  of  bene  dicere,  cnrodvija-KO}  for  the 
passive  of  aTro/rmW;  and  these  substitutions,  in  turn, 
are  equivalent  to  Latin  mortem  contemnere  for  mortem 
non  timere,  occasioni  deese  for  occasione  non  uti.  If,  like 
some  languages,  the  Latin  had  possessed  a  "negative 

182 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

voice  "  (e.  g.,  Japanese  yukazu,  "I  do  not  go,"  to  yuku> 
"  I  go  ")  such  combinations  would  have  led  to  another 
class  of  composite  inflection. 

Included  in  the  study  of  composite  inflection  must 
also  be  cases'  like  the  future  feram,  feres,  feret,  or  the 
perfect  dizi,  dixisti^  in  which  different  persons  of  the 
same  inflectional  set  are  formed  with  different  mode  or 
tense  suffixes. 

16  Of  the  associations  based  on  the  meaning  of  the  words 
associated  there  now  remains  only  the  association  of  two 
words,  because  they  are  members  of  a  well-known 
phrase.  In  my  experiments  to  which  I  alluded  above 
these  were  fairly  frequent,  as  when  the  printed  charac- 
ters CARRY  suggested  "Fetch  and  carry,"  RAN,  "He 
ran  away  with  the  Dutch,"  HIGH,  "High  Street," 
BETTER,  "For  better,  for  worse."  In  those  cases  in 
which  the  word  shown  was  a  numeral,  such  associations 
were  noticeably  in  the  majority,  as  SEVEN,  "  We  are 
seven ;  "  FIVE,  "  Lend  me  five  shillings." l  There  is  no 
case  at  hand  in  which  the  association  of  words  combined 
into  phrases  appears  to  have  led  to  analogical  interfer- 
ence beyond,  perhaps,  a  temporary  lapsus  linguae.  It 
must  not  be  confused  with  the  anticipation  of  the  sound 
which  belongs  to  a  subsequent  word  while  the  actual 
phrase  is  uttered,  such  as  Lay's  "effecht  of  Fichte  " 
and  the  cases  cited  by  Meringer  and  Mayer.  In  these 
cases  the  innervation  is  only  slightly  ahead  of  time,  but 
the  sound  was  from  the  beginning  intended  for  pronun- 

1  It  may  be  stated  here  that  the  results  obtained  by  my  experiments 
differ  very  materially  from  those  just  published  by  Thumb  and  Marbe 
(Experimentelle  Untersuchungen  iiber  die  Psychol.  Grundl.  der  Sprachl. 
Analogiebildung,  1901,  p.  34).  In  their  experiments  in  87.5%  the  word 
associated  with  a  numeral  was  another  numeral.  In  my  experiments  of 
more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  associations  only  two  showed  the  associa- 
tion of  another  numeral. 

183 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

elation.  What  we  have  here  called  analogical  interfer- 
ence would  demand  that  a  word  should  be  affected  by 
another  word  with  which  it  has  frequently  been  com- 
bined in  a  phrase  without  any  intention  of  uttering  this 
phrase,  as  in  the  following  fictitious  example,  where  the 
vowel  of  "fetch  "  has  supplanted  that  of  "carry." 

->I-»'L-*L— »C  a  R-»R->Y— >  I T— »M->T->S-»E->L->F. 

it 
f  E   t  c  h 

The  words  associated  in  phrases  usually  differ  seman- 
tically,  functionally,  and  phonetically,  and  the  associa- 
tive tie  is,  therefore,  too  weak  to  lead  to  analogical 
disturbances. 

In  colloquial  speech  cases  which  betray  a  fairly  close 
cohesion  of  the  members  of  certain  phrases  are  not  fre- 
quent but  do  occur.  In  these  instances  a  word  will 
quite  inappropriately  drag  its  mate  after  it,  as  in  the 
two  passages  below,  both  taken  from  a  recent  novel,  the 
first  belonging  to  a  rustic  character,  the  second  to  the 
author  herself : l  " '  I  may  have  my  faults, '  continued 
Clutterbuck,  ' .  .  .  but  I  am  grateful  to  Providence 
that  conceit  was  never  one  of  my  besettlements.  I  know 
I  never  was  much  to  look  at,  but  that  is  no  Trial-by-jury 
to  my  patience,  for  I  hold  that  a  handsome  man  is  first- 
cousin-once-removed  to  a  barber's  block.'"  And  "If 
from  this  town  a  traveller  walks  towards  the  sun-rising, 
he  will  soon  find  himself  in  a  very  Inferno  of  both  blaz- 
ing and  burnt-out  blast-furnaces,  deep,  dark  pits,  and 
weird  heaps  of  cooling  slag  which  look  like  the  remains 
of  some  giant  oyster  feast;  but  if  he  turns  his  steps 
Westward-ho,  he  will  come  to  a  delightsome  land  of 
meadows  and  orchards." 

1  T.  Fowler,  A  double  Thread,  p.  114,  333. 
184 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

Such  cases  arise  whenever  the  innervation  continues 
unchecked  along  a  beaten  track,  and  are  used  occasion- 
ally as  a  comic  motif. 

17  As  the  association  by  sense  may  lead  to  changes  in  the 
form  of  words,  so  the  association  by  sound  may  affect 
the  meaning,  as  when  curia  influences  the  meaning  of 
cour  (from  cohors).1  A  very  common  case  is  that  of  two 
words  which  have  either  the  same  or  very  similar  pho- 
netic form ;  the  meaning  of  the  unfamiliar  one  is  assimi- 
lated to  that  of  the  better  known.  An  often  quoted 
example  is  the  Modern  German  "  Wahnwitz "  (and 
"  Wahnsinn  "  formed  on  its  analogy),  the  first  member 
of  which  is  now  felt  to  contain  the  stem  of  the  verb 
" wa'hnen "  =  "to  opine,"  "to  think  wrongly,"  whereas 
in  reality  the  Old  High  German  "wSnawizzi  "  shows  it 
to  be  the  negative  prefix  "wSna"  =  "without."  A 
parallel  case  is  that  reported  by  Colonel  T.  W.  Higgin- 
son.2  "  Doctor  "  Hackett  of  Newburyport,  an  eccen- 
tric character,  was  annoyed  by  vagrant  boys,  who 
delighted  in  filling  the  key-hole  of  his  hut  with  gravel 
and  small  stones.  "'Such  conduct,'  he  said  in  his 
Micawber-like  way,  '  I  should  call,  sir,  —  with  no  disre- 
spect to  the  colored  population,  —  niggardly ; '  '  and 
similar  is  the  reading  of  the  meaning  "blue  flannel 
shirts"  into  the  word  "indigoes,"  "partly  from  the 
color  of  the  articles  designated  and  partly  from  their 
office ;  they  were  blue  '  undergoes. '  "  8  Unless  the  two 
words  are  already  of  identical  form  this  process  usually 
involves  formal  changes  also,  by  which  the  less-known 
or  unknown  word  assimilates  itself  phonetically  to  the 
better  known  word ;  a  levelling  similar  to  the  orthograph- 

1  Cf.  Schmidt,  die  Griinde  des  Bedeutungswandelfl  (1894),  p.  29. 

2  Contemporaries  (1899),  p.  346. 

8  Holland,  Sevenoaks  (1886),  p.  130. 
185 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

ical  adaptation,  which  changes  "  rime  "  into  "  rhyme  "  r 
because  of  a  preposterous  etymological  connection  with 
pvQpos.  So,  e.  g.,  "brydguma  "  (jguma  is  equivalent  to 
homo)  was  changed  to  "bridegroom."  Under  the  name 
of  "popular  etymology"  (Volksetymologie)  this  phe- 
nomenon has  received  exhaustive  treatment.  Foreign 
words  are  most  frequently  exposed  to  this  tendency  of 
assimilating  the  foreign  sound  series  to  native  and 
familiar  sound  combinations,  sometimes  with,  sometimes 
without,  the  attempt  to  read  an  intelligible  meaning 
into  the  strange  complex.  For  there  are  cases  where 
practically  no  semantic  improvement  results,  such  as 
English  "Happy  David"1  or  "Alfred  David"  for 
"affidavit,"  German  "supp'nklug"  for  "superklug," 
where  the  adaptation  remains  formal;  while  in  the 
change  from  the  Old  German  "horotubil"  to  "Rohr- 
dommel "  the  first  member  is  made  to  contain  an  allu- 
sion to  the  places  favored  by  the  bird.  And  when  this 
same  "  Rohr-  "  of  the  word  "  Rohrsperling  "  is  further 
changed  to  "  roher  "  in  the  phrase,  "  schimpfen  wie  ein 
Rohrsperling  (roher  Sperling),"  =  "to  curse  like  a 
trooper,"  the  change  from  the  unintelligible  compound 
fco  the  more  appropriate  adjective  "uncouth,  bad- 
mannered,"  is  a  semantic  improvement.  A  case  like 
"  extry  munction  "  2  for  "  extreme  unction  "  stands  on  the 
border  line.  Brahmanical  writers  3  perform  remarkable 
feats  of  ritualistic  exegesis  upon  the  basis  of  such 
semantic  identification  of  phonetically  similar  words.  In 
these' cases  it  is  not  the  grammarian  who  speaks,  but  the 
philosopher  to  whom  word  and  thing  are  the  same,  and 

1  Holland,  Sevenoaks  (1886),  p.  240. 

2  Frederic,  The  Damnation  of_Theron  Ware  (1896),  p.  62. 

8  Cf.  e.  g.  Aufrecht'a  note  to  Aitareya  Brahmana,  i.  2,  3,  p.  432 ;  Roth 
on  Nirukta,  p.  221. 

186 


IMITATIVE  AND  ANALOGICAL   CHANGES 

who,  therefore,  concludes  that  similar  words  imply 
similar  things.  Elsewhere,  as  in  Abraham  a  Santa 
Clara,  this  play  upon  words  (punning)  has  become  a 
stylistic  peculiarity. 

In  all  cases  of  so-called  popular  etymology  it  is  neces- 
sary that  the  meaning  of  one  of  the  two  words  should  be 
unknown,  that  of  the  other  familiar.  Where  both  words 
are  in  ordinary  use  they  maintain  their  independence 
unless  similarity  of  sound  is  accompanied  by  a  certain 
semantic  affinity.  As  in  the  associations  which  are 
based  upon  similarity  of  sense  alone,  so  in  those  brought 
about  by  similarity  of  sound  alone  the  associative  tie  is 
only  rarely,  and  under  special  conditions,  strong  enough 
to  lead  to  associative  interference. 

The  Old  English  "beodan,  bead,  boden,"  "to  offer," 
"to  command  "  (=  German  "ge-bieten  "),  has  gradually 
transferred  its  meaning  to  "biddan,  bced,  beden,"  "to 
ask  "  (=  German  "  bitten  "),  so  that  in  Modern  English 
the  former  verb  is  entirely  absent.  The  confusion  was 
helped  by  the  semantic  relation  of  the  two  verbs.  Sim- 
ilar is  the  case  of  Old  English  "fleon,"  preterite  singu- 
lar "fleah,"  preterite  plural  "flugon,"  preterite  participle 
"flogen,"  "to  flee,"  and  "fleogan,"  preterite  singular 
"fleag"  (fleah),  plural  "flugon,"  preterite  participle 
"flogen,"  "to  fly,"  where  the  identity  of  a  number  of 
forms  has  led  to  confusion  so  that  "  to  fly  "  is  used  con- 
stantly, instead  of  "to  flee,"  and  Sweet  marks  "flee  "  as 
obsolete  in  the  spoken  language.  In  this  case  the  forms 
common  to  both  verbs  have  formed  the  bridge  for  seman- 
tic contamination,  just  as  an  identical  syllable  or  sound 
was  seen  above  to  facilitate  formal  contamination. 

Finally,  phonetic  similarity  may  lead  in  some  cases  to 
functional  assimilation.  So  when  -ly  becomes  the 
recognized  termination  of  the  English  adverbs,  original 

187 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

adjectives  like  "daily,"  "yearly,"  acquire  adverbial 
function.  Of  the  same  character  is  the  treatment  of 
Latin  neuter  plurals  in  -a  as  feminine  singulars  in 
French,  and  the  use  of  "oncet"  (for  "once")  as  an 
ordinal  (=  first)  mentioned  below. 


188 


LECTURE  IV 
CHANGES  IN  LANGUAGE 

II 

Phonetic  Change 

1  THE  discussion  so  far  has  dealt  with  those  changes, 
both  phonetic  and  semantic,  which  are  distinctly  imita- 
tive, in  the  wide  sense  in  which  Tarde  uses  this  term. 
The  change  was  either  the  result  of  borrowing  from  the 
speech  of  another  individual,  the  usual  process  by  which 
changes  spread  and  are  perpetuated  in  a  community;  or 
it  was  the  result  of  associative  disturbance  when   one 
word,  phrase,  grammatical  form,  or  construction  inter- 
fered with  another  within  the  same  individual's  vocab- 
ulary.    In  either  case  the  change  arose  outside  of  the 
word,  form,    phrase,   or  construction,  and  was  trans- 
ferred bodily  to  it.     The  problem  always  was  to  account 
for  this  transfer. 

There  remain  now  those  changes  which  are  neither 
imitative  nor  analogical,  but  for  which  relative  indepen- 
dence and  originality  must  be  claimed.  Although  it  is 
true  that  in  general  the  same  fundamental  causes  lie  at 
the  bottom  of  both  phonetic  and  semantic  changes  of  this 
kind,  the  difficulty  of  approaching  these  last  causes  and 
the  intricate  nature  of  the  problem  make  it  advisable  to 
treat  phonetic  and  semantic  changes  separately. 

2  Original   phonetic  changes   naturally  fall   into  two 
large  classes,  namely,  (1)  those  which  take  place  during 

189 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

the  process  of  speech  production  and  in  the  same  indi- 
vidual, and  (2)  those  which  take  place  in  the  transmis- 
sion of  speech  from  one  individual  to  another,  being 
connected  either  with  the  auricular  perception  of  speech 
sounds  or  with  their  reproduction.  This  second  group, 
therefore,  takes  place  in  a  second  individual. 
3  In  taking  up  the  first  of  these  classes,  it  will  be  con- 
venient to  distinguish  between  immediate  causes  of 
phonetic  change  and  ultimate  causes  of  phonetic  change. 
This  distinction  is  of  considerable  importance,  because 
the  linguist  is  primarily  concerned  with  the  investiga- 
tion of  immediate  causes,  while  the  ultimate  causes  lie 
outside  his  province  and  often  are  beyond  his  ken.  For 
example,  it  will  appear  in  a  subsequent  paragraph  that 
certain  phonetic  changes  are  due  to  an  increase  in  the 
speed  of  utterance  (§  9).  This  acceleration,  then,  is 
the  immediate  cause  of  these  phonetic  changes.  But 
behind  it  must  lie  other,  more  remote  causes.  It  is  a 
perfectly  just  question  to  ask :  Why  did  such  an  accel- 
eration take  place?  Linguistic  science  cannot  find  an 
answer  to  this  question.  For  assuming  for  the  moment 
that  the  correct  answer  were,  "  Because  certain  changes 
in  the  cerebrum  have  taken  place,"  it  is  not  the  linguist 
who  answers,  but  the  student  of  physiological  psychol- 
ogy. And  the  same  is  true  of  a  still  more  remote  ques- 
tion, "What  produced  these  cerebral  changes?  The 
climate  ?  "  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  linguist  must 
not  ask  these  questions,  but  simply  that  as  linguist  he 
cannot  find  an  answer  to  them  in  the  particular  objects 
which  he  studies.  These  answers  must  be  sought  and 
found  in  other  departments  of  science. 

There  are  four  such  remote  causes  which  usually 
appear  in  the  discussion  of  speech  changes:  (1)  the  in- 
fluence of  climate  and  environments,  (2)  the  influence 

190 


PHONETIC   CHANGE 

of  race  mixture,  (3)  the  anatomical  change  of  the  organs 
of  speech,  and  (4)  physiological  changes  in  the  cerebrum. 
The  first  two  of  these  are  three  degrees  removed  from 
any  individual  phonetic  sound,  while  the  other  two  are 
two  degrees  distant. 

The  two  diagrams  on  p.  192  will  serve  to  illustrate 
this  point  more  fully.  The  first  represents  the  relation 
between  a  given  phonetic  change  and  its  assumed  ana- 
tomical or  cerebral  causes,  the  second  the  relation  of 
climatic  conditions  or  race  mixture  to  a  given  phonetic 
change. 

4  References  to  climatic  or  geographical  influences  upon 
either  the  vocal  organs  or  the  brain  are  generally  too 
vague  to  be  satisfactory  for  scientific  work.  An  alleged 
preference  of  the  inhabitants  of  mountainous  districts 
for  "harsh"  gutturals  appears  early  (1858)  in  Lotze's 
Mikrokosmus,  and  has  often  been  repeated.  But  so 
long  as  ethnologists  and  physiologists  do  not  furnish 
more  definite  data  of  climatic  and  geographical  influ- 
ences upon  the  physical  or  psychical  states  of  man,  such 
a  theory  is  nothing  more  than  a  vague  hypothesis.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  "  indirect  influence  "  of  race  mixture 
on  language  to  which  Hempl l  has  lately  (1898)  alluded. 
Through  the  assimilation  of  alien  races  he  assumes  such 
psychical  and  physical  modifications  may  be  brought 
about  in  a  given  population  as  will  be  reflected  in  their 
speech.  "  While  the  English  of  America  will  probably 
never  be  affected  by  the  German  spoken  among  us,  I 
should  not  be  surprised  if  the  very  large  admixture  of 
German  blood  should  so  modify  the  average  American 
of  the  future  that  his  English  will  undergo  changes 
that  it  might  not  have  undergone  except  for  this  fact." 
This  theory  is  not  improbable,  but  it  requires  stronger 

1  Transact.  Amer.  Philol.  Ass.  (1898),  p.  45  ff. 
191 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 


CJ 

produced  'g  assumed  to  ®  assumed  to  be 

*^  -< <  <  < 

j-5      caused  by 


192 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

support  than  its  general  plausibility.  Both  theories 
can  for  the  present  offer  no  help  toward  an  explanation 
of  phonetic  changes.  We  must  wait  until  at  least  a 
modicum  of  definite  concrete  facts  is  available,  so  that 
they  may  be  adequately  tested.  This  can  be  done  so 
much  the  more  easily  because  such  influences  (even 
when  established)  can  have  no  direct  bearing  upon 
phonetic  changes,  but  can  only  act  as  mediate  causes  of 
sound  modifications. 

5  The  assumption  that  anatomical  changes  in  the 
organs  of  speech  lie  at  the  bottom  of  phonetic  changes 
is  equally  old.  The  assurance  with  which  this  claim 
has  sometimes  been  put  forth  is  inversely  proportional 
to  the  evidence  produced  to  support  it.  Lotze  (1858), 
in  the  same  passage  of  his  Mikrokosmus 1  to  which  refer- 
ence has  just  been  made  rather  guardedly  referred  to  it 
in  closing  his  general  remarks  about  the  physical  influ- 
ences on  the  formation  of  speech:  "That  the  bodily 
organization  should  have  a  share  in  the  conditions  of 
speech  will  not  seem  unnatural  to  those  who  bear  in 
mind  that  we  are  here  dealing  not  so  much  with  an 
operation  of  the  mental  energy  itself  as  with  the  mani- 
festation of  this  operation  in  the  form  of  a  physical 
phenomenon.  Here  the  mind  is  not  at  home,  and  it 
suffers  no  loss  of  dignity  by  having  its  medium  of  ex- 
pression, namely,  sound,  and  the  power  of  using  this 
medium  depend  on  bodily  impulses.  In  the  further 
development  of  speech  traces  of  this  physiological  influ- 
ence may  still  be  discerned  in  some  of  the  phenomena. 
Not  merely  the  general  selection  of  sounds  utilized  in 
the  language  of  any  particular  people  may  proceed  from 
minute  peculiarities  in  the  structure  of  its  vocal  organs, 

1  II,  p.  223  of  the  first  edition,  1858  =  II,  p.  231  of  the  second  edition, 
1869  =  vol.  I,  p.  613,  of  Hamilton-Jones'  English  translation  (1885). 
13  193 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

again  in  part,  perhaps,  dependent  on  climatic  condi- 
tions (e.  g.,  we  find  widely  diffused  among  the  inhabi- 
tants of  mountainous  countries  a  preference  for  the  harsh 
palatal  sounds  and  among  dwellers  in  islands  for  dental 
consonants),  but  also  the  modifications  of  vowels  and 
consonants  in  the  inflection  and  composition  of  words 
suggests  the  idea  of  their  being  in  part  at  least  the  result 
of  organic  conditions.  But  the  precise  nature  of  these 
it  would  be  very  difficult  to  state." 

Much  more  boldly  Benfey,1  in  1877,  while  professing 
ignorance  concerning  the  interior  organs  of  speech, 
asserted  that  "the  existence  of  differences  in  the  struc- 
ture of  those  vocal  organs  which  lie  open  for  inspection 
is  universally  known."  But  the  only  definite  illustra- 
tion given  is  the  case  of  the  Abipones,  a  tribe  of  South 
American  Indians  inhabiting  the  territory  between 
Santa  F£  and  St.  Jago,  of  whom  it  is  asserted  that  they 
are  unable  to  close  their  lips,  and  hence  possess  no 
labials.  I  do  not  know  upon  what  evidence  this  asser- 
tion rests.  Martin  Dobrizhoffer,  who  spent  eighteen 
years  among  these  Indians,  and  published,  in  1784,  a 
Historia  de  Abiponibus  in  three  volumes,  makes  no 
mention  of  any  anatomical  peculiarity  of  their  lips, 
though  he  devotes  a  whole  chapter  to  a  minute  descrip- 
tion of  the  physique  of  the  tribe.  Nor  does  he  allude 
to  any  absence  of  labials  in  his  description  of  the  sounds 
of  the  language.  The  only  passage  which  can  have 
given  rise  to  the  belief  which  Benfey  cites  is  in  the  fifth 
chapter  of  the  second  volume,  where  Dobrizhoffer  states 
that  the  savage  tribes  were  in  the  habit  of  perforating 
their  lower  lips  and  inserting  a  reed  or  tube,  called 
tembetd,  into  the  hole.  The  more  civilized  converts 
discarded  this  appendage,  "labii  foramine,  quippe  quod 

1  Nachrichten  v.  d.  Kgl.  Gesellsch.  d.  Wiss.  z.  Gottingen  (1877),  p.  548. 

194 


PHONETIC   CHANGE 

nec  lateribus  caementoque  claudi  neque  ulla  arte  coales- 
cere  unquam  potest,  solo  remanente,  per  quod,  dum 
colloquuntur,  saliva  ubertim  profluit  aliquando,  &  in 
enunciando  vocibus  tantillum  impediuntur." 

Merkel,1  in  his  Physiologic  der  menschlichen  Sprache 
(1866),  cites  an  anatomical  observation  of  Tourtual 
(1846),2  namely,  that  among  Semitic  peoples  the  pars 
basilaris  ossis  occipitis  is  characteristically  developed  so 
that  the  volume  of  the  pharyngo-nasal  cavity  is  in- 
creased. This  anatomical  peculiarity,  Merkel  suggests, 
might  be  used  to  explain  the  existence  of  the  velar  con- 
sonants (made  by  an  articulation  of  the  tongue  and  soft 
palate)  in  Semitic.  But  he  guardedly  adds  that  "  there 
is  no  reason  why  we  should  not  believe  that  the  charac- 
teristic development  observed  by  Tourtual  is  simply  an 
adaptation  of  these  soft  and  pliable  organs  [this,  then, 
can  refer  to  the  muscular  parts  only]  to  the  sounds  espe- 
cially cultivated." 

Without  any  physiological  support,  Scherer3  (1868) 
suggested  that  a  defect  in  the  development  of  the  mus- 
cles which  govern  the  soft  palate  might  be  the  reason 
why  vowels  which  are  purely  oral  in  other  parts  of  Ger- 
many are  nasalized  by  the  Austrian  peasant.  In  Paul 
this  theory  appears  in  the  discussion  of  the  question 
why  members  of  a  speech  unit  speak  alike.  According 
to  Paul,4  this  is  partly  due  to  the  "  Zwang  der  Verkehrs- 
gemeinschaft,"  a  sociological  factor  which  corresponds 
to  the  principle  of  involuntary  imitation  referred  to 
above.  On  the  other  hand,  however,  he  "can  hardly 


l  P.  42. 

8  Neue  Untersnchungen  iiber  den  Ban  des  menschl.  Schlund-  und  Kehl- 
kopfes  (1846),  p.  15. 

8  Z.  Gesch.  d.  deut.  Sprache,  p.  24. 
*  Principien  (3d  ed.),  p.  56  f.,  §  41. 
195 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

doubt  that  the  peculiarities  of  the  vocal  organs  are 
transmitted  by  heredity  from  generation  to  generation, 
and  closer  or  more  distant  relationship  is  therefore  un- 
doubtedly [there  is  a  slight  increase  of  confidence  in  this 
4  gewiss  '  when  compared  with  the  '  Kaum  zu  bezweifeln 
ist  es  '  of  the  opening  of  the  clause]  to  be  counted  among 
the  circumstances  which  determine  the  degree  of  simi- 
larity in  the  structure  of  the  vocal  organs.  But  it  is 
not  the  only  determining  factor.  Just  as  little  does 
change  in  speech  depend  alone  on  the  structure  of  the 
vocal  organs." 

From  the  passages  quoted  it  will  be  seen  that  really 
two  questions  are  here  involved.  First,  is  there  any 
ethnical  difference  in  the  structure  of  the  vocal  organs 
of  different  nations  ?  Evidence  to  support  this  claim  is 
deplorably  weak;  and,  until  more  and  better  data  are 
produced,  we  are  at  liberty,  not  to  deny,  but  to  doubt 
their  existence,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  an  infant  (using 
the  term  in  its  literal  meaning),  when  transferred  from 
its  own  ethnic  community  to  some  alien  race,  acquires 
the  foreign  language  with  absolute  perfection  and  ease. 

Second,  do  the  speech  organs  of  one  and  the  same 
ethnical  community  undergo  any  changes  in  the  course 
of  time  ?  It  is  this  aspect  of  the  case  only  which  is  of 
importance  for  our  problem.  Those  who  claim  that 
phonetic  changes  are  due  to  anatomical  causes  must 
show,  not  that  different  nations  differ  in  the  structure 
of  their  vocal  organs,  but  that  such  variations  take  place 
in  the  history  of  the  same  ethnic  group.  So  that  even 
those  who,  on  the  scanty  evidence  submitted,  are  will- 
ing to  believe  that  phonological  differences  of  different 
nations  rest  upon  an  anatomical  basis,  cannot  at  once 
proceed  to  apply  the  same  principle  to  such  changes  as 
arise  in  the  same  linguistic  community.  For  this  second 

196 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

proposition,  however,  experimental  evidence  seems  to  be 
wholly  wanting,  and  it  behooves  us,  therefore,  to  wait. 
No  facts  warrant  an  extreme  statement  like  that  of 
Osthoff  (1879),  that  "  a  modification  of  the  vocal  organs 
is  in  general  the  real  cause  of  phonetic  changes  in  the 
history  of  languages."  Much  less  can  such  an  assump- 
tion furnish  a  support  for  the  (unhappily  worded)  thesis 
"that  phonetic  laws  admit  of  no  exception."  In  the 
essay  referred  to  it  rather  appears  as  a  deduction  from 
and  corollary  to  that  thesis. 

6  The  fourth  theory  is  that  which  explains  phonetic 
changes  as  the  results  of  modifications  of  the  cerebral 
centres.  The  explanation  of  phonetic  modifications  by 
the  assumption  of  temperamental  changes  belongs  here. 
For  by  temperament  is  meant  a  definite  psychical  status, 
the  characteristics  of  which  are  reflected  in  the  manner 
in  which  the  vocal  organs  are  operated.  This  psychical 
status,  according  to  the  current  psychological  doctrine 
of  psycho-physical  parallelism,  is  paralleled  by  a  corre- 
sponding physiological  status  of  the  cerebral  centres,  so 
that  all  variations  in  the  former  imply  parallel  varia- 
tions in  the  latter.  The  theory  as  given  at  the  begin- 
ning of  this  paragraph  simply  states  in  psycho-physical 
terms  what  the  theory  of  temperamental  influence  states 
in  purely  psychical  terms. 

This  theory  offers  the  best  chances  for  a  future 
psycho-physical  explanation  of  sound  modifications. 
The  present  state  of  knowledge  does  not,  however, 
enable  us  to  go  beyond  a  general  statement.  Rousselot's 
"hypothe'se  d'une  sorte  d'andmie,  d'un  affaiblissement 
graduel  et  transitoire  des  centres  nerveux  qui  aboutissent 
aux  muscles "  (proffered  in  the  closing  pages  of  his 
valuable  experimental  investigation  of  the  patois  of  three 
generations  belonging  to  the  same  family),  is  not  yet,  as 

197 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

its  author  himself  notes,  supported  by  experimental 
observations.  For  the  cases  of  artificial  interference 
with  the  normal  activity  of  the  nervous  centres  by 
means  of  drugs,  for  which  we  possess  sufficient  proof, 
do  not  directly  bear  on  this  question. 

From  these  attempts  at  discovering  the  ultimate 
causes  of  phonetic  change  which,  as  was  pointed  out 
above,  really  lie  outside  the  linguistic  domain,  we  turn 
to  a  consideration  of  the  immediate  causes  which  %may 
be  assigned  to  definite  phonetic  modifications. 
7  In  his  latest  work  (1900),  Wundt  has  called  attention 
to  the  possibility  that  social  conventions  *  may  have 
influenced  the  phonetic  character  of  speech.  In  support 
of  which  he  notes  "  that  custom  requires  certain  Indian 
tribes  to  articulate  with  open  mouth,  so  that  among  the 
Iroquois  the  opposite  form  of  articulation  is  considered 
improper."  Hence,  according  to  him,  the  absence  of 
the  labials,  p,  pk,  £>,  bh,  m,  and  w,  in  the  Iroquois  dialect. 
There  is  no  inherent  improbability  in  the  general  propo- 
sition. Convention  may  affect  the  form  of  utterance  as 
well  as  its  substance ;  witness,  for  instance,  the  low  and 
subdued  tone  in  speaking  which  is  demanded  by  "  good 
breeding."  We  should  have  here  on  the  phonetic  side 
a  parallel  to  the  effect  which  taboo  may  have  had  in 
lexicography.  But  the  empirical  basis  for  it  seems  at 
present  still  exceedingly  weak. 

Touching  the  absence  of  labials  in  the  Iroquoian  dia- 
lects, Mr.  J.  N.  B.  Hewitt  of  the  Bureau  of  American 
Ethnology  (Smithsonian  Institution)  informs  me  that  it 
is  not  a  matter  depending  upon  a  "rule  of  good  usage," 
though  it  is  a  fact  that  they  do  not  employ  labials  with 
the  exception  of  the  Cherokee  "ama"  =  "water,"  and 
the  Wyandot,  which  replaces  the  w-sound  of  the  ancient 

1  Volkerpsychologie,  Die  Sprache,  I  (1900),  p.  359  and  403. 
198 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

forms  by  an  w-sound.  The  same  authority  suggests 
that  a  passage  in  Father  Brebeuf's  Jesuit  Relations 
(1636) l  may  have  been  the  source  for  the  statement  made 
by  Wundt:  "Us  ne  cognoissent  point  de  B,  JT,  L,  M, 
P,  JT,  Z,  et  iamais  J,  E,  V,  ne  leur  sont  consonnes. 
.  .  .  Toutes  les  lettres  labiales  leur  manquent;  c'est 
volontiers  la  cause  qu'ils  ont  tous  les  ISures  ouuertes  de 
si  mauvaise  grace  et  qu'a  peine  les  entend-on  quand  ils 
sifflent,  ou  qu'ils  parlent  bas."  This  remark  is  substan- 
tially repeated  by  Lafitau  (1724),  who,  in  his  Mosurs 
des  Sauvages  Ame'riquains,  says ; 2  "  Parmi  ces  termes, 
ceux  qui  sont  charge's  de  Lettres  Labiales,  ne  leur 
appartiennent  certainment  pas,  parce  que  les  Hurons  et 
les  Iroquois  ne  les  ont  point;  ce  qui  leur  donne  une 
grande  facilite"  de  parler  toujours  la  bouche  ouverte  et 
en  tenant  le  Calumet  entre  les  dents." 

A  remark  of  Sievers  in  his  Phonetik  3  shows  how  very 
difficult  it  is  to  make  accurate  observations  along  this 
line.  In  speaking  of  the  various  degrees  in  which  the 
lips  co-operate,  by  rounding  and  protrusion,  in  the  for- 
mation of  speech  sounds  and  affect,  for  instance,  the 
acoustic  quality  of  vowels,  he  refers  to  the  noticeable 
lack  of  labial  articulation  in  (British)  English,  a  pecu- 
liarity so  pronounced  that  it  has  often  been  noted  and 
classed  as  one  of  the  chief  characteristics  of  the  (British) 
English  basis  of  articulation.  He  then  proceeds:  "wie 
es  denn  in  England  eine  ausgesprochene  Anstandsregel 
1st  die  Lippen  beim  Sprechen  moglichst  wenig  zu 
bewegen."  This,  however,  appears  to  me  altogether 
to  overstate  the  matter  and  also  to  involve  a  partial 
misinterpretation.  In  the  first  place,  the  activity  of  the 

1  Chapter  iv,  p.  99,  col.  1. 
3  II,  p.  468-469. 

8  Grundziige  der  Phouetik4  (1893),  p.  17,  §  46. 
199 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

lips  in  English  is  largely  proportionate  to  the  desire 
for  and  need  of  clear  enunciation,  much  greater  for  that 
reason  in  elocutionists  and  on  the  stage  than  in  collo- 
quial discourse.  From  this  fact  it  may  be  at  once  in- 
ferred that  the  immobility  of  the  lips  cannot  be  called  an 
"  Anstandsregel " ;  if  it  were  so,  the  serious  actor  of  all 
persons  would  be  last  to  offend  decorum,  or  even  to  dis- 
figure his  face  if  energetic  lip-movement  were  considered 
unaesthetic.  All  that  can  be  said  in  explanation  of  the 
unquestionable  fact  of  the  (British)  English  weak  labial 
articulation  is  that  it  is  probably  due  to  the  same  causes 
as  the  general  tendency  toward  repose  and  avoidance  of 
gestures  or  expressive  movements  by  which  the  English 
are  sharply  distinguished,  for  instance,  from  the  Italians. 
Further  than  that,  it  is  hardly  safe  to  go.  And  the 
question  whether  social  convention  produces  this  ten- 
dency toward  repose,  or  whether  a  natural  (physical) 
tendency  toward  repose  is  so  universal  as  to  appear  in 
the  likeness  of  a  social  convention,  must  remain  open. 

As,  however,  the  investigation  of  the  influence  of 
distinctly  social  factors  on  speech  has  only  just  begun, 
material  in  support  of  Wundt's  thesis  may  yet  be  found. 

It  may  be  noted  that  Benfey,  in  1877,  advanced  a 
somewhat  similar  theory  in  emphasizing  the  importance 
of  physiognomy  on  sound  formation.  "  Changes  in  the 
features  of  the  face  imply  certain  modifications  in  the 
relative  position  of  the  vocal  organs  necessary  for  the 
production  of  a  given  sound."  This  is  the  reason  why, 
in  imitating  another's  speech,  we  are  apt  "  to  adopt  the 
physiognomy  of  the  person  imitated,  his  gestures,  his 
whole  habitus."  If,  then,  the  adoption  of  a  certain 
physiognomic  trait  becomes  socially  compulsory,  a  cor- 
responding modification  of  certain  sounds  would  be  the 
necessary  result. 

200 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

8  Under  the   name  of  "mechanical   changes"  may  be 
grouped  a  number  of  modifications  which  must  always 
and  of  necessity  appear   whenever  the    manner  with 
which  the  mechanism  of  the  speech-organs  is  operated  is 
varied.     A  given  series  of  configurations  of  the  vocal 
organs  may  be  considered  here  as  a  machine  which  is 
so  adjusted  as  always  to  turn  out  a  certain  product,  but 
variations  in  the  manner  in  which  this  machine  is  run 
must  be  reflected  in  the  finished  product. 

9  The  first  principle  underlying  such  changes  is,  that 
any  acceleration  in  the  speed  of  a  series  of  movements 
necessarily  impairs   the   nicety  of  their  co-ordination. 
Some   cases   of   what  is   generally  called   combinatory 
sound  change  belong  here,  namely,  all  those  in  which 
sound  alterations  are  due  to  an  inexact  co-ordination  of 
the  requisite  movements  when  passing  from  one  sound 
to  the  other.     Such  is  the  case,  for  instance,  when  two 
mutes  follow  each  other,  of  which  one  is  formed  by  a 
farther  forward  articulation  than  the  other,  e.  g.,  when 
the  labial  p  is  preceded  by  the  dental  (alveolar)  £,  or 
t  by  the  guttural  k.     In  order  to  insure  full  acoustic 
value  to  the  t  and  k  respectively,  it  is  necessary  that  the 
closure  for  the  next  consonant  (namely,  of  the  lips  for 
p,  and  of  the  tongue  against  the  alveolar  region  for  the  t) 
should  not  be  made  until  the  previous  consonant  has 
been  exploded.     If,  however,  the  articulations  for  the 
first  and  second  consonant  slightly  overlap  so  that  the 
closure  for  p  or  t  is  made  before  the  preceding  t  or  k 
has  been  exploded,  the  audibility  of  these  sounds  is  im- 
paired or  even   annihilated,  for  the   sound  waves   are 
caught  in  the  cul-de-sac  which  has  been  formed  in  front 
of  them.      In   this   manner  the   so-called    "regressive 
assimilation  "  of  *  quid-pe    to  quippe,  factum  to  fatto, 
octo  to  otto,  has  probably  taken  place.     It  must  not  be 

201 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

forgotten  that  the  two  £'s  in  the  printed  Italian  words 
do  not  represent  phonetically  two  complete  surd  dental 
explosives.  The  two  £'s  are  the  orthographical  symbol 
for  a  long  t,  that  is,  between  the  moment  of  closure  and 
the  moment  of  explosion  a  small  pause  intervenes.  The 
change,  then,  is  from  octo  to  olo,  i.  e.,  a  single  long  t 
has  taken  the  place  of  the  compound  -ct-.  This  prolon- 
gation of  the  t  is  somewhat  in  the  nature  of  a  compen- 
sative lengthening,  the  reason  for  which  will  appear  in 
a  later  paragraph.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  syllabifi- 
cation plays  here  a  prominent  part.  Its  general  impor- 
tance for  the  facts  of  assimilation  has  been  properly 
emphasized  by  Wechssler,  whose  proposed  distinction 
between  extra-syllabic  and  intra-syllabic  assimilation  is 
certainly  of  greater  dynamic  value  than  the  usual  divi- 
sion into  " regressive  "  and  "progressive"  assimilation. 
The  Latin  syllabification  o-cto  appears  to  have  resisted 
the  loss  of  e,  which  took  place  when  later  the  syllabic 
division  fell  between  c  and  £,  as  it  had  fallen  between  d 
(f)  and  p  in  *quit-pe. 

The  reverse  combination  in  which  a  forward  conso- 
nant precedes  a  back  consonant  may,  in  the  case  of 
overlapping  articulations,  lead  to  similar  results.  For, 
if  the  closure  for  the  back  consonant,  e.  <?.,  t,  is  made 
before  the  forward  consonant,  e.  g.,  p,  has  been  ex- 
ploded, communication  with  the  lungs  is  stopped  and 
the  compression  of  air  necessary  for  the  explosion  cannot 
take  place.  Such  is  the  case  in  Siever's  example,  "hat 
kein,"  which  becomes  "ha"  kein,"  and  here  belong  prob- 
ably changes  like  Latin  pecco  for  pet-co,  French  sept 
(=  sSt)  from  Latin  septem,  laptiser  (with  "  silent  "jt?) 
from  baptizare,  malade  from  male-aptum,  mam'zelle  (col- 
loquial) from  mademoiselle. 

In  these  cases  again  syllabic  division  is  important. 
202 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

Latin  pet-co  becomes  pecco,  but  a-ptus  remains,  while 
later  mal(e)ap-tus  becomes  malade.  By  no  means  all 
cases  of  assimilation  are  due  to  such  mechanical  changes. 
The  term  "assimilation,"  like  many  of  our  grammatical 
terms,  covers  a  large  mass  of  phonetic  phenomena  which 
have  a  homogeneous  external  appearance,  but  are  of  very- 
different  origin.  Each  individual  case  must  be  judged 
separately. 

Where  three  consonants  follow  each  other  an  increase 
of  speed  frequently  results  in  the  removal  of  one,  because 
the  necessary  movements  cannot  be  gone  through  in  the 
short  time  allotted  to  their  execution.  For  this  reason 
"  Hauptkunstiick  "  becomes  "  Haupkunstiick  "  (with  long 
p  ;  ptk  changing  to  pt,  as  ct  changed  to  tin  otto),  "  wrist- 
band "  in  English  becomes  "riz-b'n(d)"  (the  s  before  the 
b  becoming  voiced),  *  pasc-tus  and  forctis  in  Latin  be- 
came pastus  and  fortis. 

10  "  Assimilations  "  like  that  of  "  octo  "  to  "  otto  "  and 
losses  like  that  of  c  in  Latin  "pastus"  are  usually  ex- 
plained as  due  to  economy  of  effort,  because  the  result- 
ant sound  combination  is  considered  easier.  Paul,1  for 
instance,  says  distinctly  "  that  there  is  a  large  number 
of  cases  of  which  we  may  unhesitatingly  say :  this  sound 
combination  is  more  convenient  ('  bequemer  ')  than  that. 
For  instance,  Italian  otto,  cattivo,  are  without  doubt  more 
convenient  for  pronunciation  than  Latin  octo  [and 
captivus],  Modern  High  German  empfangen  than  an 
unassimilated  *  entfangen"  But  this  whole  theory  of 
"  a  tendency  to  make  the  work  of  utterance  easier  to  the 
speaker,  to  put  a  more  facile  in  the  stead  of  a  more 
difficult  sound  or  combination  of  sounds  "  (Whitney, 
1867),2  or  as  Passy,  after  Sweet,  prefers  to  call  it,  "the 

1  Principien,8  p.  53,  §  38. 

2  Language  and  the  Study  of  Language,  p.  69. 

203 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

principle  of  economy,"  is  based  upon  a  wrong  concep- 
tion. "  Convenient  and  inconvenient,"  Osthoff  rightly 
remarked  in  1877,  "  easy  and  difficult  for  pronunciation 
are  very  relative  terms.  To  one  man  or  nation  certain 
sounds  or  combinations  of  sounds  are  very  convenient 
and  frequent  .  .  .  while  another  man  or  nation  finds 
these  same  sounds  and  combinations  exceedingly  diffi- 
cult." Similarly  Sievers  attacked  the  theory  of  economy 
of  effort  as  far  as  isolated  sounds  are  concerned :  "  In 
general  it  must  be  strictly  maintained  that  —  abstractly 
considered  —  differences  in  the  difficulty  of  the  pronun- 
ciation of  speech  sounds  are  exceedingly  small,  and  that 
real  difficulties  are  only  experienced  in  the  imitation  of 
foreign  sounds.  For  as  every  part  of  the  human  body 
by  one-sided  practice  has  become  especially  fitted  for 
that  service  which  it  is  daily  called  upon  to  fulfil,  but 
is  less  apt  or  wholly  unfit  for  other  purposes,  so  also 
the  human  speech  apparatus  attains  by  constant  practice 
absolute  control  over  the  sounds  and  sound  groups  of 
its  native  language." 

What  is  said  here  of  isolated  sounds  applies  with 
equal  force  to  the  habitual  co-ordination  of  those  mus- 
cular movements  which  are  necessary  to  produce  a  series 
of  sounds ;  and  it  seems  incredible  that  the  sequence  -ct- 
in  octo,  with  all  the  muscular  co-ordination  it  required, 
was  less  convenient  to  the  Roman  than  is  the  -tt-  of  otto 
to  the  Italian,  and  that  the  change  from  the  former  to 
the  latter  was  the  result  "d'une  e*conomie  dans  1'ac- 
tivit6  des  organes"  (Passy).  If  certain  combinations 
were  really  irksome  in  themselves,  why  should  they 
have  been  attempted  at  all ;  why  should  they  often  have 
been  maintained  so  long?  Moreover  it  is  mere  pre- 
sumption in  a  foreigner  to  pretend  to  judge  the  ease  or 
difficulty  of  pronunciation  in  a  language  not  his  own ; 

204 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

he  might  as  well  determine  what  is  beautiful  or  humor- 
ous to  a  foreign  people. 

It  is  instructive  to  note  how  Wundt  (1900),  in  his 
argument  against  the  teleological  assumption  of  a  ten- 
dency toward  ease  ("Bequemlichkeit"),1  coincides  with 
what  Leskien  wrote  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
(1875)  ago.2  Both  point  out  that  this  hypothesis  de- 
mands that  a  distant  period  be  set  down  as  the  age  of 
"normal  "  pronunciation,  while  ever  after  the  tendency 
toward  economy  of  effort  and  ease  produced  linguistic 
decay ;  and  such  was  really  the  view  of  earlier  scholars, 
such  as  Schleicher  and  Curtius,  the  former  of  whom 
tried  to  support  this  theory  of  gradual  decay  by  an 
underpinning  borrowed  from  Hegel's  philosophy  of 
history. 

The  real  causes  which  bring  about  those  phonetic 
changes  which  are  usually  explained  as  being  due  to 
economy  of  effort  are  change  of  speed,  which  interferes 
with  the  proper  co-ordination  of  movements,  and  avoid- 
ance of  unusual  combination,  not  because  they  are  hard 
in  themselves,  but  because  they  are  unusual,  our  mus- 
cles being  trained  for  a  different  and  narrowly  circum- 
scribed set  of  movements.  This  latter  point  will  be 
touched  in  another  paragraph. 

11  Increase  of  speed  leads  by  no  means  always  to  simpli- 
fication or  loss  of  sounds.  The  opposite  also  occurs. 
So  in  passing  from  a  median  contact  (as  in  I)  of  tongue 
and  palate  to  a  lateral  contact  (as  in  s)  or  vice  versa, 
it  is  difficult,  in  rapid  utterance,  to  avoid  an  interven- 
ing £,  which  is  due  to  the  audible  severance  of  the  first 
contact ;  "  scarcely  "  thus  becomes  "  scarcetly  "  in  vulgar 
pronunciation;  similarly  *Jcenstor  (Latin  censor)  be- 

1  Volkerpsychologie,  Die  Sprache.  I,  p.  352-353  ;  cf.  also  p.  15. 
8  Jenaer  Lit.  Zeit.  (1875),  p.  98. 
205 


LECTURES  ON   THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

comes  keenzstur  (i.  e.,  Tcents-)  in  Oscan,  "warmth" 
becomes  "warmpth,"  Latin  sumsi  becomes  sumpsi, 
Latin  ess're  becomes  French  estre  (Stre),  Greek  *  dvpfc 
becomes  dvSpfc. 

In  all  these  cases  utterance  is  not  made  easier,  but  the 
inserted  consonant  is  simply  due  to  a  failure  to  arrange 
the  sequence  of  movements  in  the  proper  manner,  and 
this,  in  turn,  is  caused  by  an  increase  of  speed.  After- 
wards the  form  which  the  word  necessarily  assumed  in 
rapid  utterance  may  often  be  extended  to  its  slow 
delivery. 

Bremer  has  called  attention  to  another  interesting 
sound  development  which  belongs  here,  namely,  the 
addition  of  a  t  to  a  final  s,  as  in  German  "  Obs-t, "  "  Ax-t, " 
colloquial  "  Aas-t,"  "anders-t."  The  same  causes  which 
led  to  the  "  inserted  "  f  after  s  in  ess* re  >  estre  >  Ure 
operate  here  also.  The  added  t  is  the  acoustic  effect  of  an 
audible  severance  of  the  lateral  contact  of  the  tongue, 
while  the  expiratory  'current  continues.  This  is  appar- 
ently quite  common  in  vulgar  English,  giving  "nice-t," 
(superlative)  "nice-t-est," " across-t,"  "fierce-t," "since-t," 
"clos-t"  (for  "close"),  and  "once-t."  This  last  is  prob- 
ably neither  a  superlative  to  "once,"  as  De  Vere  thought, 
nor  an  analogy  formation  after  "whilst,"  "against,"  as 
Storm  assumes,  but  a  purely  phonetic  development  out 
of  "  once  "  and  bearing  the  same  relation  to  it  which 
"nice-t"  does  to  "nice."  Its  form  (the  ending  -st)  has 
then  resulted  in  a  functional  assimilation  of  the  adverb 
"once-t"  to  the  ordinal  "first,"  and  this  gives  Mr. 
Dunne's  "William  the  Oncet."  Quite  parallel  is  the 
development  of  a  final  k  in  French  dialectal  "  nik  "  for 
"nid,"  t.  e.,  ni,  "perduk"  for  "perdu."  "Ce  V  Rous- 
selot  correctly  explains,  "est  purement  organique, 
[=  mechanical]  amend  par  la  brusque  de'tente  des  organes 

206 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

et  n'a  rien  a  voir  avec  les  consonnes  finales  en  roman." 
Similarly,  in  a  certain  pronunciation  of  accented  "  yea  " 
(=  yes),  the  short  vowel  is  often  followed  by  a  jt>,  be- 
cause the  current  continues  to  escape  while  the  lips  are 
being  closed.  For  those  forms  which  occur  both  with 
and  without  syncope  (as  Latin  caldus  and  calidus)  Brug- 
mann  has  rightly  assumed  variation  of  speed,  calling  the 
slower,  not  syncopated  forms,  Zewta-forms,  the  faster, 
syncopated  ones,  aZZe^ro-forms.  Acceleration  of  speed 
will  probably  account  satisfactorily  for  all  cases  of  syn- 
cope, and  the  fact  that  this  process  of  elimination  takes 
place  in  unemphatic  syllables,  which  are  hurried  over, 
agrees  well  with  this  assumption.  In  this  respect  syn- 
cope, being  the  result  of  rapid  utterance,  is  the  exact 
counterpart  of  a  certain  form  of  anaptyxis  which  results 
from  retarded  enunciation.  Such  retarding  is  frequently 
accompanied  by  the  stressing  of  usually  unstressed  parts 
of  a  word  which  leads  to  an  "  unfolding."  Monosyllabic 
"film"  is  thus  turned  into  "Elam,"  with  a  secondary 
accent  on  the  group  Im,  which  thus  obtains,  according 
to  the  phraseology  of  the  Hindoo  grammarians,  a  vowel 
share  (svarabhakti),  or  becomes  syllabic,  tim.  Similarly 
Dwight  becomes  Dawfght.  Both  of  these  words  occur 
in  street  names  of  New  Haven,  and  the  anaptyctical 
form  is  often  heard  when  they  are  given  slowly  and  with 
distinctness.  (Another  form  of  anaptyxis  will  be  dis- 
cussed below,  §  18.)  The  term  "syncope"  is  commonly 
applied  to  the  loss  of  a  vowel  only.  But  there  are  cases 
where  a  whole  syllable  is  lost,  under  essentially  the 
same  conditions  under  which  vowels  are  syncopated 
(namely,  in  unstressed  position),  and  which,  therefore, 
might  aptly  be  called  syllabic  syncope.  This  syllabic 
syncope,  like  vocalic  syncope,  is  undoubtedly  due  to 
rapidity  of  utterance.  It  most  frequently  occurs  when 

207 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

two  successive  syllables  are  either  identical  or  similar, 
as  in  MeA,[ai/]az>0409,  nu[tri]triz  ;  se[mi]modius,  a//,[<£t]- 
fopevs.  For  these  cases  Bloomfield  introduced  the  apt 
term  "haplology."1  Others  speak  here  of  syllabic 
"superimposition,"  which  somewhat  grossly  describes 
the  psychological  process.  The  term  "  syllabic  dissimila- 
tion" is  entirely  inappropriate,  as  the  process  has  nothing 
to  do  with  dissimilation.  The  reason  why  most  cases  of 
syllabic  syncope  occur  when  two  successive  syllables 
have  at  least  their  initial  consonants  in  common  is,  first, 
that  this  common  initial  forms  the  bridge  by  which  the 
second  syllable  may  be  anticipated,  as 


m 


0   O-»P-»E-+T-»2, 

and  second,  that,  owing  to  the  similarity  of  the  two 
syllables,  the  loss  of  one  is  not  so  readily  noticed  and 
corrected,  insuring  a  survival  to  the  curtailed  form. 
But  syllabic  syncope  is  not  confined  to  haplology.  The 
vulgar  modern  High  German  has  not  only  the  haplology 
superindent  for  superintendent,  but  the  further  abbrevi- 
ation to  superdent  (this  was  the  really  vulgar  form  in 
my  dialect,  superindent  was  common  as  approved  collo- 
quialism, superintendent  was  purely  literary).  Meringer 
and  Mayer  give  the  lapsus  linguae  "  Katorie  "  for  "  Kat- 
egorie."  Such  cases  are,  of  course,  rarer  because  the 
absence  of  common  initials  decreases  the  temptation  to 

1  Bloomfield,  Journal  Am.  Oriental  Soc.,  XVI,  p.  xxxiv  ;  Wacker- 
nagel,  Altind.  Gramm.,  I,  p.  278,  §  241  ;  Brugmann.  Grundriss,  I2,  part  2, 
p.  857,  §  983  ;  Meringer  und  Mayer,  Versprechen  und  Verlesen,  p.  180. 

208 


PHONETIC   CHANGE 

switch  the  innervation  from  one  syllable  to  the  other  and 
the  loss  is  more  easily  detected.  Still,  Adolf  Wilbrandt,1 
presumably  reproducing  an  actually  observed  idiosyn- 
crasy of  pronunciation,  makes  a  character  of  one  of  his 
novels  indulge  in  syllabic  syncopes,  such  as  "Photo- 
phie  "  (=  Photographic),  "  Genation  "  (=  Generation), 
"Delikessen"  (=  Delikatessen),  "Arokrat"(=  Aristo- 
krat),  "  Plejer  "  (=  Plebe jer).  For  the  Prakrit  Pischel 2 
cites  atthamana  for  astamayana  with  loss  of  ya,  ada  for 
avata  and  kalera  for  Tcalevara  (kalebara)  with  loss  of  va. 
Such  losses  must  be  viewed  much  in  the  same  light  as 
the  apocope  of  initial  syllables,  e.  g.,  'Varsity  (Uni- 
versity), backy3  (tobacco),  or  the  Praenestine  conia  for 
ciconia,  and  differ  only  in  degree,  not  in  quality,  from 
the  syncope  of  single  unstressed  vowels. 
12  Increased  speed  of  utterance  is  also  the  immediate 
reason  why  words  which  are  often  used  undergo  phonetic 
changes  which  do  not  affect  words  which  are  more 
rarely  used  and,  therefore,  more  slowly  pronounced. 
By  a  dangerous  metaphor  which  Friedrich  Schlegel 
(1808)  introduced  into  linguistic  science,4  these  changes 
of  much  used  words  have  been  compared  with  the  grad- 
ual wearing  off  of  the  lettering  on  a  coin  through  fre- 
quent handling.  A  brief  reflection  shows  that  there  can 
be  no  serious  comparison  between  the  loss  of  the  metallic 
substance  of  a  coin  which  passes  through  many  hands, 
and  any  changes  which  may  arise  through  the  frequent 
repetition  of  a  series  of  movements.  In  fact,  as  Wechss- 
ler 6  points  out,  this  frequency  ought  to  insure  greater 

1  Die  gute  Lorelei,  in  Deutsche  Rundschau,  LXXXIII  (1895),  p.  332- 
35.     Brugmann,  Sitz.  B.  d.  K.  sachs.  G.  d.  W.  (1901),  p.  31. 

2  Grammatik  d.  Prakrit  Sprachen,  §  149,  p.  113. 

8  Cf.  Storm,  Engl.  Philologie,2  Index  sub  Apokope  and  Aphaerese. 
*  tiber  Sprache  und  Weisheit  d.  Indier,  p.  15. 

6  Forschungen  z.  Roman.  Philol.  Festgabe  f.  Suchier,  p.  482,  end  of  note. 
14  209 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

practice  and,  hence,  precision.  The  immediate  cause 
for  change  is  acceleration  of  utterance,  which  changes. 
e.  g.,  vocalic  i  to  consonantal  i  in  "familiar,"  "familiar  " 
(as  Victor  rightly  notes),  or  "  Tuesday  "  (=  tiuz-)  to 
"Chooseday"  (cuz-). 

13  Nor  is  it  to  be  understood  that  language  distinguishes 
in  these  cases  between  valuable  and  valueless  syllables 
or  sounds,  and  tends  to  divest  itself  of  the  latter,  "  to 
get,"  as  Whitney  (1867)  once  put  it,  "rid  altogether  of 
what  is  unnecessary  in  the  words  we  use."1  As  we 
saw  above,  there  is  no  such  tendency  in  language. 
Such  a  theory  rests  upon  a  false  interpretation  of  the 
facts.  The  cause  for  a  loss  is  never  to  be  found  in  the 
"uselessness  "  of  the  sound  eliminated.  The  immediate 
cause  is  always  something  else,  e.  #.,  increase  of  speed. 
The  influence  of  such  a  force  is,  however,  limited  by 
the  requirements  of  intelligibility,  and  since  we  measure 
the  importance  of  sounds,  or  syllables,  or  words  by  the 
standard  of  intelligibility,  it  is  plain  that  unimportant 
elements  (i.  e.,  elements  which  do  not  vitally  affect  in- 
telligibility) succumb,  while  important  elements  resist. 
A  weak  lung  does  not  contract  tuberculosis  from  being 
weak,  but  from  definite  infection.  But  its  weakness  is 
contributory,  because  it  diminishes  its  power  of  resist- 
ance.2 As  we  have  at  present  no  sufficiently  large 

1  Language  and  the  Study  of  Language,  p.  70. 

2  Curtius   (in  1870)  strongly  urged  that    the    phonetic    development 
of  a  sound  was  affected  by  its  signification,  "  that  sounds  and  syllables 
which   are    felt   to  contain    the    chief    significance    oppose    disintegra- 
tion longer  than  others,"  so  that,  e.  g.,  in  Greek,  intervocalic  i,  which 
•was  usually  dropped,  was  left  undisturbed  in  optative  forms  like  Sotriv, 
\4yoiev,  through  a  desire  to  save  the   mode  sign  i  .      This  theory  of  in- 
tentional preservation  of  significant  sounds  was  successfully  attacked  by 
Delbriick  "  on  general  grounds  "  :  "  It  seems  to  me  that  we  are  not  justi- 
fied in  assuming  that  the  Hindoos  and  Greeks  had  a  perception  which  we 
have  ceased  to  possess  of  the  significance  of  the  individual  sound  in 

210 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

collection  of  experimental  observations  regarding  varia- 
tions of  speed  in  normal  speech  and  their  acoustic  effects, 
this  subject  awaits  further  investigation. 

Even  less  do  we  know  of  those  variations  in  speed 
which  may  have  taken  place  in  the  historical  develop- 
ment of  language  within  the  same  community.  It  is 
very  unfortunate  that  we  possess  no  information  con- 
cerning the  length  of  time  consumed  by  a  Greek  tragedy 
or  a  forensic  speech  from  which  the  rate  of  delivery 
could  at  least  approximately  be  fixed.  There  is  no 
inherent  improbability  in  the  assumption  that  in  many 
languages  the  rate  of  speed  increased  as  tirn^e  went  on. 
But  the  attempt  which  Wundt  has  recently  made  to 
explain  Grimms'  law  of  the  permutation  (shifting)  of 
mutes  by  assuming  that  the  changes  there  involved  are 
due  to  an  increase  of  the  speed  of  utterance  is  open  to 

speech  forms ;  for  they  as  well  as  we  had  only  complete  words  which 
were  transmitted  from  generation  to  generation ;  "  [This  statement  must, 
however,  be  somewhat  modified.  In  English,  for  instance,  the  ending  -or 
has  usually  a  weak  stress  (as  emperor,  orator),  but  where  the  ending  be- 
comes important  a  secondary  accent  falls  on  it,  as  lessor  (contrasted  with 
lessee},  similarly  the  French  ending  -^appears  in  English  in  a  weak  (e.  g., 
attorney,  treaty)  and  a  strong  (e.  g.,  lessee,  legatee)  form.  The  difference 
in  vowels  is  the  immediate  result  of  a  difference  of  accent,  but  this  differ- 
ence of  accent  is  due  to  semantic  causes.]  "  and  that  primeval  period  in 
which,  according  to  Bopp's  hypothesis,  the  Indo-European  forms  were 
compounded  by  the  composition  of  significant  elements  lay  for  them  no 
less  than  for  us  in  the  twilight  of  the  past  whence  no  enlightening  ray 
could  reach  them.  Thus  in  my  opinion  the  preservation  of  the  i  in  the 
optative  may  be  more  correctly  regarded  as  due  to  the  influence  of 
analogy.  It  seems  in  fact  the  most  natural  assumption  that  Soltji'  retained 
its  01  because  it  formed  part  of  the  series  oolfitv,  5o?T«."  That  is,  func- 
tional association  and  association  by  sound  may  act  as  a  stay  to  phonetic 
transformation,  not  because  the  sounds  so  retained  are  felt  to  be  charged 
with  a  given  meaning,  but  because  the  associative  group  of  which  they 
form  a  member  cannot  be  broken.  Against  the  theory  that  there  can  be 
no  analogical  preservation,  but  only  analogical  restitution,  see  the  note 
to  p.  264. 

211 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

the  gravest  doubts.  We  have  here  a  series  of  important 
changes  which  affect  surd,  sonant,  and  aspirated  mutes 
(e.  g.,  &,  #,  M,  gli)  without  apparent  influence  of  neigh- 
boring sounds,  except  in  so  far  as  the  accent,  according 
to  Verner's  discovery,  determines  whether  the  pre- 
germanic  medial  tenues  A,  t,  p,  and  s  are  to  change  into 
surd  x,  J>,  /,  s  or  into  the  corresponding  sonants,  3,  d, 
£,  z  ;  the  former  change  takes  place  immediately  after 
the  chief  accent,  the  latter  in  other  positions.  There 
being  no  historical  evidence  for  an  increase  of  speed 
among  the  Germanic  tribes,  Wundt  must  rely  on  such 
internal  evidence  as  the  linguistic  facts  may  yield.  He, 
therefore,  supports  the  allegation  that  rapidity  of  utter- 
ance tends  to  convert  sonant  mutes  into  surds  by  a 
reference  to  changes  resulting  from  a  rapid  pronuncia- 
tion of  the  syllables  sba,  sda,  sga,  "  which,  when  rapidly 
articulated,  involuntarily  become  spa,  sta,  ska."  But 
he  forgets  that  these  cases  have  no  standing  here  be- 
cause they  are  combinatory  sound  changes,  i.  e.,  induced 
by  neighboring  sounds.  Nor  are  his  other  examples  for 
the  same  change  better  chosen,  because  in  them  b,  d,  g 
occur  as  finals  of  the  syllables  ab,  ad,  ag,  a  position  in 
which  the  modern  German  habitually  changes  all  voiced 
sounds  into  surds.  For  the  German  this  fact  is  well 
recognized,1  but  it  seems  that  quite  generally  "les 
consonnes  finales  accusent  une  tendence  a  s'assourdir  " 
(Rousselot),2  for  the  diagrams  of  Rousselot  show  that  if 
they  do  not  lose  their  voice  altogether,  they  often  reduce 
it  and  become  at  least  partially  surd.  There  is  no  experi- 
mental material  available  to  prove  that  languages  which 

1  Sievers'  Grundziige  d.  Phonetik,4  p.  265  f.,  §  744  ;  Vietor,  Elemente 
d.  Phonetik,3  p.  304,  §  154  :  "  Im  Auslaute  sind  ausser  den  Liquiden  I,  m, 
n,  r,  nur  stimmlose  gestattet ;  daher  z.  B.  t  in  Land,  trotz  d  in  Landes. 

2  Rousselot,  Les  Modifications,  p.  44. 

212 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

possess  clearly  defined  voiced  mutes,  such  as  the  English 
or  French,  tend  to  transform  these  into  surds  when  the 
speed  of  utterance  is  increased.  The  result  of  a  few 
tests  I  made  were  negative. 

15  It  would  appear  more  likely  that  another  cause  might 
be  immediately  responsible  for  this  change,  namely,  an 
increase  in  the  force  of  the  expired  current.  Just  as 
modifications  of  the  speed  of  utterance  bring  about 
certain  necessary  mechanical  changes  in  the  phonetic 
form  of  words,  so  also  variations  of  the  strength  of  the 
expiratory  current  produce  certain  mechanical  conse- 
quences. 

An  examination  of  the  conditions  which  are  necessary 
for  the  production  of  voiced  mutes  will  readily  show 
that  there  is  a  limit  to  the  force  with  which  they  may 
be  uttered. 

For  the  production  of  voice  the  vocal  chords  must 
approach  each  other  so  closely  that  only  a  moderate 
amount  of  breath  may  escape  through  the  glottal  open- 
ing. An  increase  beyond  a  certain  degree  of  strength 
requires  a  wider  opening  of  the  glottis,  which,  in  turn, 
makes  it  impossible  for  the  vocal  chords  to  act  so  as  to 
produce  voice.  This  observation,  in  which  both  Victor 
and  Sievers1  agree,  can  be  tested  experimentally  by 
abnormally  increasing  the  force  of  the  current  while  try- 
ing to  pronounce  a  sonant  mute.  A  very  emphatic 
"  Gad !  "  may  be  heard  on  the  stage  with  its  initial  mute 
as  surd,  exactly  as  Victor  heard  the  initial  and  final  d 
of  an  emphatic  "  dead !  "  as  surds.  There  is,  therefore, 
better  phonetic  support  for  assuming  that  a  change  from 
sonant  mutes  to  surds,  such  as  is  regularly  found  in  the 

1  Vietor,  Elemente  der  Phonetik,3  p.  278,  §  141,  Anm.  1;  Sievers, 
Grundziige  der  Phonetik,*  p.  266,  §  745.  —  Storm's  exception  (Englische 
Philologie,2  p.  110)  does  not  seem  to  be  well  taken. 

213 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

Germanic  and  the  Armenian,  may  have  been  the  result 
of  an  increase  of  energy  of  expiration  rather  than  of 
greater  speed  of  utterance.  This  same  theory  would 
likewise  explain  the  transition  of  Pregermanic  tenues 
into  tenues  aspiratae,  for  "emphatic  aspiration"  is 
a  well-known  phonetic  phenomenon ; l  and  the  neces- 
sary distinction  between  the  original  sonants  (now  turned 
surd)  and  the  original  surds  would  be  maintained  by  the 
aspiration  of  the  latter.  An  exactly  parallel  case  for 
this  is  furnished  by  the  modern  South  German  dialects, 
in  which  the  unvoiced  mediae  5,  $,  g  (for  original  voiced 
5,  c?,  ^,  which  are  wholly  absent  from  these  dialects)  are 
kept  distinct  from  the  corresponding  surds,  not  only 
because  they  are  weaker  (lenes),  but  also  because  the 
stronger  surds  (fortes)  are  aspirated,  e.  g.,  Wint  (Kind), 
gib  (gieb).  The  further  development  of  this  parasitic 
aspiration  into  the  spirants  corresponding  to  the  previous 
mute  (e.  g.,  ph  to pf)  demands  strong  expiration.  And 
this  appears  to  have  been  the  intermediate  stage  by 
which  finally  the  simple  spirants/,  J>,  %  were  reached,2 
a  process  described  by  Sievers  in  §  729.  This  final 
change  is  the  only  one  for  which  rapidity  of  utterance 
might  theoretically  be  urged  as  cause,  but  experimental 
material  for  this  assumption  remains  to  be  gathered. 
The  whole  problem  of  the  Germanic  shifting  of  mutes 
cannot  receive  adequate  solution  until  a  series  of  similar 
phenomena  in  living  dialects  has  been  carefully  analyzed 
and  explained.  Its  complexity  warrants  the  belief 
that  different  forces  were  operative  in  producing  it,  and 
that  each  individual  change  demands  a  separate 
explanation. 

Whether  there  is  any  connection  between  geographical 

1  Victor,  Elements  d.  Phonetik,8  p.  227,  §  104,  Anm.  2  and  3. 

2  Brugmann,  Grundriss,  I  (2d  ed.),  part  II,  p.  695,  §  791,  Anm. 

214 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

environment  and  the  strength  of  the  expiration  cannot 
be  determined  until  experiments  in  this  direction  have 
been  made.  The  "  deeper  "  gutturals  of  mountaineers  as 
compared  with  corresponding  sounds  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  plains,  as  the  3  (M)  of  the  Syriac  of  Kurdistan 
for  w  (heth),  have  often  been  explained  as  due  to  more 
emphatic  expiration;1  and  Victor,2  hesitatingly,  makes 
use  of  the  same  principle  to  account  for  the  conversion 
of  voiced  into  voiceless  mutes  in  Wales  and  Scotland. 
16  The  differences  in  the  development  of  sounds  accord- 
ing to  their  position  in  stressed  or  unstressed,  strongly 
stressed  or  weakly  stressed  syllables  is  due  to  rapidity 
of  utterance,  the  force  of  the  emitted  current  and  the 
muscular  energy  with  which  the  vocal  organs  are  ma- 
nipulated. This  latter  is  always  directly  proportional  to 
the  strength  of  the  current.3  Not  only  a  vowel,  but  also 
a  consonant  or  a  group  of  consonants  undergo  variations 
which  depend  upon  the  nature  of  the  stress  accent 
which  their  syllable  happens  to  have.  As  far  as  vowel 
changes  are  concerned,  changes  due  to  unstressed  posi- 
tion are  now  universally  kept  apart  as  a  class  by  them- 
selves. The  cases  of  consonantal  changes  depending 
upon  accent  are  not  so  frequent.  The  Old  English 
feminine  demonstrative  seo,  "that  one,"  in  enclitic 
position  became  sio  (through  seo),  thence  sho,  which 
being  blended  with  the  strong  form,  seo,  yielded  a  con- 
taminated sheo,  regularly  reflected  in  Modern  English 
"she."  The  initial  sh  of  "she"  is  therefore  due  to  its 
atonic  enclitic  position,  the  change  from  si  to  sh  being 
parallel  to  that  of  ti  to  *  (e.  #.,  netiur  [nature]  >  necur, 

1  Noldeke,  Nensyrische  Grammatik,  §  26. 

2  Vietor,  Elemente  d.  Phonetik,8  p.  279,  §  141,  Anm.  3  (end). 

8  Lenz,  Kuhn's  Zt.,  XXIX,  p.  51 :  "  Das  Grundgesetz  aller  Lautbildung, 
das  Gleichgewicht  von  Expirationsdruck  und  Hemmung." 

215 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

etc.).  In  a  similar  manner  Wackernagel 1  explained 
the  variation  in  the  initial  sounds  of  Greek  rot  and  o-oi, 
the  latter  being  the  reflex  of  an  original  orthotone  tuoi, 
the  former  of  the  corresponding  enclitic  toi  which  had 
lost  its  u  in  this  position,  a  loss  paralleled  by  English 
"forrards,"  "backards"  (forwards,  backwards),  "hock- 
ered  "  (awkward),  "  Cdgsal "  (C6gswfcll). 

Where  stressed  and  unstressed  forms  run  parallel,  it 
sometimes  happens  that  the  stressed  form  is  discarded 
and  only  the  unstressed  form  retained.  In  these  cases 
modifications  which  arose  through  lack  of  stress  become 
secondarily  stressed,  as  the  u  in  Latin  cludo  for  au 
(claudo)  from  6c-cludo,  where  it  occurs  in  unstressed 
syllable.  The  peculiar  retention  of  the  ah-  sound  in 
are,  rather,  father  (where  e*  would  be  expected,  as  in 
"name,"  "take,"  and  actually  occurs  as  vulgar  pronun- 
ciation, "air,"  "rayther,"  "fayther")  is  similarly  ex- 
plained by  Hempl 2  as  a  generalization  of  the  unstressed 
form  of  these  words. 

17  Scherer,  in  his  Zur  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Sprache 
(1868),  seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  suggest  a  con- 
nection between  pitch  accent  and  vowel  color.3  After 
Reyher,  in  1679,  had  made  the  first  attempt  at  determin- 
ing the  various  proper  tones  of  the  German  vowels,  or 
rather  the  proper  tones  of  the  oral  cavity  acting  as  a 
resonator  in  the  production  of  vowel  sound  ("Obser- 
vavi,"  he  says  in  his  Mathesis  Mosaica,  "vocales  non 
tantum  figura  oris  et  linguae  sed  etiam  ratione  toni 
differre,  si  suppressa  voce  et  quasi  halitu  solo  pronunci- 

1  Kuhn's  Zt.,  XXIV,  p.  592.  —  Bechtel,  Hauptprobleme,  p.  355,  suggests 
a  similar  explanation  for  Ka.1,  but  its  connection  with  the  stem  iro-  is  not 
certain. 

2  Amer.  Journ.  Phil.,  XXI,  p.  438. 
•  P.  121-6. 

216 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

entur,  ita  autem  ut  ab  uno  vel  plurimis  maxime  vicinis 
exaudiri  queant"),  a  large  number  of  similar  experi- 
ments, conveniently  tabulated  by  Victor,1  though  differ- 
ing in  detail,  have  established  the  fact  that  vowels  are 
characterized  by  certain  definite  resonances,  and  that  w, 
a,  i  form  an  ascending  musical  series.  In  1829  Willis, 
to  whom  we  owe  a  very  valuable  treatise  on  the  acoustic 
nature  of  vowels,  in  support  of  his  claim  that  these 
resonances  are  absolute  for  any  given  vowel,  and  do  not 
depend  upon  the  chord  tone,  called  attention  to  the 
incompatibility  of  the  vowel  i  (in  "see")  with  a  very 
low  chord  tone,  and  of  the  vowel  u  (in  "too  ")  with  a 
very  high  chord  tone,  a  remark  which  can  easily  be 
tested  by  trying  to  sing  i  on  a  very  low,  or  u  on  a  very 
high  staff. 

Upon  the  basis  of  these  observations  Scherer  ventured 
to  suggest,  with  some  hesitancy,  that  "  the  pitch  of  the 
musical  accent  which  falls  upon  a  given  syllable  attracts 
the  vowel  with  a  corresponding  proper  tone,"  so  that 
a  very  high-pitched  syllable  would  demand  an  z,  a  very 
low-pitched  syllable  a  u.  And  where  pitch  and  stress 
run  parallel,  the  unstressed  and  at  the  same  time  low- 
pitched  syllables  would  exhibit  a  tendency  to  change 
their  vowels  to  o  or  u. 

Couples  like  Greek  Trarepe?  and  einrctTopes, 
and  evTrdrcop)  (frpeves  and  a(f>pove^  (frptfv  and 
•^euSe?  and  -»Jrez)So<?,  seem  to  lend  some  color  to  the 
theory  that  the  qualitative  variation  of  e  and  o  is 
dependent  upon  the  accent,  e  belonging  to  the  higher 
pitched,  o  to  the  lower  pitched  syllable.2  The  chief 

1  Elemente  d.  Phonetik,8  p.  28. 

2  The  literature  on  this  question  is  given  by  Wackernagel,  Altindische 
Grammatik,  I  (1896),  p.  75,  §  68;  and  Hirt,  Der  Indogennanische  Akzeut 
(1895),  p.  16. 

217 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

weakness  of  this  hypothesis  lies  in  the  fact  that  the 
alleged  influence  of  pitch  on  vowel  color  is  so  far  only 
a  theoretical  construction  which  has  no  support  in  any 
phonetic  observations.  The  parallelism  of  high  tone 
and  e,  low  tone  and  0,  may  be  purely  accidental,  or  if 
there  be  a  causal  relation  between  them,  what  hinders 
us  to  assume  that  the  vowel  e  attracted  the  high  pitch  ? 
Not  until  we  find  in  a  living,  pitch-accenting  language 
like  the  Chinese  such  a  dependence  of  vowel  quality  on 
pitch  can  this  theory  be  regarded  as  anything  more  than 
a  guess.  In  Chinese,  however,  as  far  as  I  know,  no 
vowel  changes  seem  to  be  induced  by  pitch  variation. 

While  it  is  impossible  to  divide  phonetic  changes  into 
two  strictly  separate  classes,  namely,  those  of  purely 
physical  and  those  of  purely  psychical  nature  (for 
physical  and  psychical  elements  are  almost  always 
blended),  yet  the  changes  discussed  in  the  preceding 
paragraphs  are  immediately  due  to  essentially  physical 
or  mechanical  causes,  inasmuch  as  they  are  the  necessary- 
results  of  certain  combinations  of  articulations  or  of  a 
certain  manner  in  which  the  speech  organs  are  operated. 
Back  of  these  immediate  causes  lie  more  remote  psy- 
chological ones.  In  contradistinction  from  these  the 
changes  discussed  in  the  following  paragraphs  are  more 
or  less  independent  of  the  physiological  structure  of 
vocal  organs,  and  as  they  are  all  the  consequences  of 
definite  mental  phenomena,  they  may  be  grouped 
together  as  psychological  changes. 

18  First  among  this  class  are  those  changes  in  which  a 
habitual  sound  combination  has  taken  the  place  of  an 
unfamiliar  one.  Where  words  borrowed  from  a  foreign 
language  are  concerned,  such  substitutions  are  frequent. 
But  coming  under  the  head  of  "changes  in  transmis- 
sion," they  do  not  belong  here.  Here  the  question  is 

218 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

whether  within  the  same  language  and  in  the  native 
speaker  the  same  degree  of  practice  is  acquired  for  all 
sound  combinations  alike. 

Now  practice  is  the  disposition  to  perform  a  task  more 
perfectly  after  having  once  performed  it.  We  "gain 
practice"  when  we  acquire  such  tendency,  we  "are 
practised  "  when  we  possess  it.  All  practice,  therefore, 
depends  on  the  frequency  with  which  a  task  has  been 
performed.  It  increases,  first  slowly,  then  more 
rapidly,  then  slowly  again,  until  it  has  reached  its 
highest  point,  after  which  an  increase  of  practice  be- 
comes impossible.  In  the  same  manner  in  which  prac- 
tice was  gained  it  fades,  unless  kept  alive  by  repetition. 
It  is,  therefore,  clear  that  practice  in  the  co-ordination 
of  the  movements  necessary  for  the  pronunciation  of  a 
sound  group  depends  upon  the  frequency  with  which 
the  speaker  is  called  upon  to  perform  this  series  of 
movements;  in  other  words,  upon  the  frequency  with 
which  certain  sound  combinations  occur  in  his  active 
vocabulary. 

There  are  a  number  of  statistical  investigations  con- 
cerning the  relative  frequency  of  single  sounds  in  differ- 
ent languages,  notably  those  of  Forstemann  for  the 
German,  Greek,  Latin,  and  Sanskrit,  and  of  Whitney 
for  the  English  and  Sanskrit.1  But  similar  tables  for 
sound  combinations  are  not  available,  although  Fb'rste- 

1  E.  Forstemann,  Neues  Jahrbuch  der  Berlinischen  deutschen  Gesell- 
schaft  (Germania,  herausgegeben  v.  F.  G.  v.  der  Hagen),  VII  ( 1846),  p.  83 
ff.  (for  German) ;  Kuhn's  Zeitschrift,  I  (1852),  p.  163  (for  Greek,  Latin, 
German) ;  II  (1853),  p.  35  (for  Greek,  Latin,  German,  and  Sanskrit) ; 
Whitney,  Oriental  and  Linguistic  Studies  (II  series),  p.  272  (for  English) ; 
JAOS.  X  (1880),  p.  cl.  (=  Proceedings  at  New  York,  October,  1877,  for 
Sanskrit ;  repeated  in  his  Sanskrit  Grammar).  —  Other  references  in  Kae- 
ding's  Hanfigkeitsworterbuch  der  deutschen  Sprache  (1897),  p.  37,  669 ; 
Pott,  Etymol.  Forsch.  (2d  ed.),  II,  part  I  (1861),  p.  37., 

219 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

mann  and  Pott  early  directed  attention  to  their  impor- 
tance.1 Almost  the  only  exception  is  the  table  which 
Bourdon  offers  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  his  L 'expres- 
sion des  Emotions  et  des  tendances  dans  le  langage 
(1892)  for  Modern  French.  The  weakness  of  this  lies 
in  the  comparatively  small  number  of  words  counted. 
The  Haufigkeitswb'rterbuch  der  deutschen  Sprache,  fest- 
gestellt  durch  einen  Arbeitsausschuss  der  deutschen 
Stenographiesysteme,  herausgegeben  v.  F.  W.  Kaeding 
(1898)  is  based  upon  the  enormous  mass  of  twenty 
million  syllables  or  about  eleven  million  words,  but 
being  principally  intended  for  stenographic  reforms,  it 
is  not  very  conveniently  arranged  for  philological  pur- 
poses. Its  results  are  also  misleading,  because  it  tabu- 
lates letters,  not  sounds. 

In  view  of  this  want  of  data,  which  ought  to  be 
speedily  supplied,  only  theoretical  surmises  are  possible. 
Assuming,  then,  that  there  exists  a  decided  difference 
in  the  frequency  of  sound  combinations  and  consequently 
also  in  the  practice  acquired  for  the  co-ordination  of  the 
movements  necessary  for  them,  we  might  reasonably 
expect  three  things  to  happen. 

In  the  first  place  a  group  of  sounds  representing  an 
unfamiliar  sequence  of  movements  may  be  broken  up  by 
the  interposition  of  a  vowel  sound.  Some  cases  of 
anaptyxis  undoubtedly  belong  here,  such  as  Heraclean 
eftSe/Aij/covTa,  Attic  e/3So/A09,  with  the  intercalary  vowels 
e  and  o  respectively  to  break  up  the  unfamiliar  *  e/SS/^o-. 

Syllabic  division  is  here  again  of  great  importance. 
In  the  Oscan  (excepting  the  dialect  of  Capua),  for 
instance,  von  Planta 2  is  undoubtedly  right  in  connect- 

1  Forstemann  Kuhn's  Zeitsch.,  II  (1853),  p.  44;  and  Pott,  Etymol 
Forsch.  (2d  ed.),  II,  part  I  (1861),  p.  61. 

a  Grammatik  d.  osk.  umbr.  Dialekte,  I  (1892),  p.  260,  §  135,  note  1. 
220 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

ing  the  difference  in  treatment  of  mute  -{-  liquid  or 
nasal  after  long  and  after  short  vowels  with  differences 
in  the  syllabic  division ;  so  that  maa-treis,  luv-freis  are 
without  anaptyctical  vowel,  because  tr  and/r  begin  the 
syllable  (just  as  there  is  no  anaptyxis  when  these  and 
similar  combinations  begin  a  word,  e.  g.^  tristaamentud^ 
Frentrei),  while  in  pat-erei  sak-arakltim  the  original  t-r 
and  &-r,  belonging  to  different  syllables,  are  separated 
by  an  intercalary  vowel. 

Not  all  cases  of  anaptyxis,  however,  belong  here. 
Some  may  be  due  to  slow  pronunciation  or  emphasis,  as 
Dickens' 1  "elongated  and  emphasized  "  "sap-pur-IZE  " 
and  "sapparised"  (=  surprise(d)).  Such  forms  may 
then  be  generalized  and  given  literary  standing  through 
their  suitableness  for  certain  metres,  as  the  Shake- 
spearean 2  " Henery "  ("I  am  the  son  of  Henry  the 
Fifth"),  "sentery"  ("  A  sentry  send  forth  ");  these  are 
exact  parallels  to  the  Vedic  use  of  svarabhakti-forms, 
like  the  trisyllabic  indra  (=  indara),  and  the  tetra- 
syllabic  dargatd  (dara^atd).  See  above,  p.  207. 

In  the  second  place,  if  the  order  of  two  sounds  should 
be  unusual  it  may  be  reversed,  provided  that  by  so 
doing  a  familiar  sequence  is  obtained.  For  in  practis- 
ing any  movement  the  order  in  which  the  elements 
follow  each  other  plays  a  most  prominent  part,  and  just 
as  we  are  unable  to  recite  a  familiar  verse  backward 
without  practising  the  reversed  order,  so  also  two  sounds 
may  be  perfectly  familiar  in  one  direction  while  they 
are  unusual  when  this  order  is  reversed.  This  process, 
then,  would  result  in  one  kind  of  metathesis.  The 
Sanskrit  dtman,  in  Prakrit  first  changed  to  dtma,  then 
to  *  dtva,  and  then  to  *  atpa ;  but  for  the  unusual  com- 

1  Our  Mutual  Friend,  I,  p.  75  ;  Pickwick  Pap.,  II,  p.  130. 

2  Cf.  Storm,  Engl.  Philol.,2  II,  p.  961. 

221 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

bination  -tp-  the  frequent  sequence  -pt-  was  substituted, 
and  the  word  occurs  in  the  form  dpta  in  the  Prakrit 
dialect  of  the  Girnar  inscriptions.1  A  similar  transposi- 
tion seems  not  improbable  for  Latin  vespa,  for  the  cog- 
nate words  point  to  an  original  *  vepsa  with  a  sequence 
-J3S-,  which  is  unusual  for  the  Latin.2 

Finally  a  third  possibility  might  be  imagined.  If 
certain  sound  combinations  are  very  frequent  then  it  may 
be  supposed  that  the  path  of  innervation  is  smoother, 
as  it  were,  along  these  usual  combinations,  and  that, 
therefore,  other  things  being  equal,  there  may  be  a  pre- 
disposition to  follow  a  given  sound  by  a  strictly  limited 
number  of  other  sounds.  If,  for  instance,  there  are 
very  many  cases  in  a  language  in  which  the  combination 
ml  occurs,  and  very  few  in  which  m  is  followed  by  w,  it 
would  seem  likely  that  the  habitual  sequence  of  move- 
ments might  be  substituted  for  the  unusual  one.  In 
the  absence  of  native  examples  this  case  might  be  in- 
stanced by  the  conversion,  in  vulgar  English,  of  "  chim- 
ney "  and  "  omnibus  "  to  "  chim(b)ley  "  and  "  om(b)libus." 
Here  the  organs  of  speech  not  practised  in  performing 
the  foreign  sequence  mn  probably  substituted  for  it  a 
more  familiar  sequence,  namely,  ml  (mbl). 

It  must  be  left  to  future  investigations  to  determine 
how  far  this  elimination  of  rare  sequences  goes  in  indi- 
vidual languages.  It  is  highly  probable  that  only  where 
a  very  usual  and  a  very  unusual  combinatitm  enter  into 
competition  this  process  of  substitution  will  take  place. 
But  as  every  language  is  continually  changing  its  pho- 
netic stock  and  thereby  gives  rise  to  new  sound  collo- 
cations, it  is  very  likely  that  some  of  these  involving 
unusual  collocations  will  undergo  additional  changes  in 

1  Pischel,  Grammatik  der  Prakritsprachen,  p.  192,  §  277. 

2  Brugmann,  Grundriss,  I  (2d  ed.),  part  II,  p.  868,  §  992. 

222 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

order  to  bring  them  within  the  range  of  habitual  groups 
of  sounds  and  movements. 

19  Another  class  of  psychological  changes  is  of  the  same 
character  as  the  analogical  changes  discussed  at  some 
length  in  a  previous  paragraph.  Like  these  they  are 
the  result  of  associative  interference.  With  this  differ- 
ence, however,  that  in  the  former  changes  one  word, 
phrase,  or  form  interfered  with  another  word,  phrase, 
or  form,  while  in  the  changes  here  intended  two  ele- 
ments of  the  same  word  interfere  with  each  other. 
Psychologically  considered,  the  change  from  OK™  to 
OTTTCO  in  the  Elian  dialect,  due  to  the  associative  inter- 
ference of  eTrra,  rests  on  the  same  basis  as  the  change  of 
the  original  * pinque  (cf.  trevTe,  etc.)  in  Latin  to  quin- 
que,  which  is  due  to  the  associative  interference  of  the 
initial  consonant  of  the  second  syllable  of  the  same 
word.  According  to  current  grammatical  nomencla- 
ture, most  cases  of  intraverbal  interference  are  called 
assimilations.  This  term,  however,  does  not  comprise 
all  the  phenomena  which  are  the  result  of  intraverbal 
interference,  such  as  epenthesis,  metathesis,  and  umlaut. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  includes  cases  which  are  only 
externally  similar.  Some  cases,  for  instance,  of  the 
"assimilation"  of  two  adjacent  consonants  do  not  be- 
long here,  because  they  are  mostly  the  result  of  an  in- 
adequate co-ordination  of  a  series  of  movements  (§  9). 
Experimental  material  for  this  class  is  found  in 
Meringer  and  Mayer's  collection  of  lapsus  linguae, 
which  is  accompanied  by  a  very  adequate  explanation 
of  the  facts  assembled.  A  similar  collection  of  lapsus 
calami  would  be  interesting,  as  illustrating  associative 
interference  in  a  different  class  of  movements.  In  order 
that  one  element  of  a  word  may  be  able  to  exercise  any 
influence  over  -another  element  of  the  same  word,  it  is 

223 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

necessary  that  both  should  be  simultaneously  present  in 
consciousness.  In  his  psychological  investigation  of  the 
phenomena  of  assimilation  and  attraction  (1860),  Stein- 
thai1  provided  for  this  simultaneous  presence  in  con- 
sciousness by  the  introduction  of  "schwingende 
Vorstellungen, "  meaning  thereby  elements  of  con- 
sciousness which,  though  within  consciousness,  are  not 
in  the  focus  2  of  consciousness. 

When  a  long  chain  or  series  of  elements  enters  con- 
sciousness, he  reasons,  the  narrowness  of  the  latter 
prevents  all  members  from  entering  the  focus  of  con- 
sciousness at  the  same  time.  Only  a  few  members  at  a 
time  can  do  so;  of  the  rest  we  remain  unaware.  But 
these  extra-focal  elements  do  not  for  that  reason  cease 
to  play  an  important  part.  The  stimulation  of  the  focal 
members  spreads  over  the  extra-focal  ones  with  which 
they  are  connected.  The  original  impetus  may  proceed 
from  a  single  focal  member,  nevertheless  the  whole 
chain  is  thrown  into  sympathetic  vibrations.  "And 
this  sympathetic  vibration  will  be  strongest  both  in 
those  members  which  are  most  closely  united  with  the 
focal  member  and  in  those  which  have  only  recently 
passed  through  the  focus  of  consciousness."  The  first 
philologist  to  note  this  phenomenon  was  Theodor 
Jacobi 3  (1843),  who  explained  the  phenomenon  of 
umlaut  as  due  to  a  psychological  anticipation  of  the 
vowel  of  the  suffix.  Later  (1874)  Boehtlingk 4  wrote 

1  Zt.  f.  Volkerps.  und  Sprachwiss.,  I,  p.  110. 

2  In  the  following  paraphrase  I  translate  Steinthal's  "  unbewusst  "  by 
"  extra-focal,"  and  "  hewusst "  by  "  focal,"  in  order  to  avoid  speaking  of 
"unconscious  elements  of  consciousness." 

8  Beitrage  z.  deut.  Grammatik  (1843),  p.  125,  quoted  by  Scherer,  Zur 
Gesch.  d.  dent.  Sprache  (1868),  p.  25  and  143. 

4Jenaer  Lit.  Zeit.  (1874),  p.  767,  quoted  by  Sievers,  Grundzuge  d. 
Phonetik,4  p.  252. 

224 


PHONETIC   CHANGE 

in  more  general  terms:  "An  Indo-European  word  is 
truly  a  unit  in  this  respect  that  the  speaker,  when  he 
utters  the  first  syllable,  has,  as  it  were,  already  mentally 
pronounced  the  whole  word." 

During  the  utterance  of  any  word  the  memories  of 
the  movements  necessary  to  produce  the  single  sounds 
of  which  it  is  composed  pass  successively  through  the 
focus  of  consciousness.  But  the  memories  which  have 
passed  through  this  focus  faintly  abide  in  consciousness 
for  some  time,  until  they  have  entirely  faded  from  it; 
and  the  memories  of  the  movements  necessary  for  sub- 
sequent sounds  faintly  rise  before  they  enter  into  the 
focus.  The  memory  of  the  sound  that  is  being  uttered, 
memories  of  sounds  just  uttered,  and  memories  of  sounds 
which  will  presently  be  uttered,  are  simultaneously 
present  in  consciousness,  though  in  varying  degrees  of 
strength.1  If  now  at  any  time  an  element  of  this  under- 
current of  sound  memories  fails  to  retain  its  subordinate 
position,  and  either  enters  the  focus  of  consciousness 
before  it  should,  or  re-enters  it  after  once  leaving  it,  an 
interference  with  the  normal  form  of  the  word  results. 
This  interference  may  manifest  itself  in  a  variety  of 
ways.  In  the  first  place  a  sound  may  improperly  reap- 
pear 2  at  a  wrong  place  of  the  word  without  disturbing 
the  other  sounds  of  which  the  word  is  composed,  as  in 
Meringer  and  Mayer's  "  Blennorrhoea  netonatorum  "  for 
"neonatorum,"  "paster  noster "  for  "pater."  Latin 
crocodrittus  for  crocodillus,  Italian  treatro  for  teatro, 
illustrate  this  transpositive  repetition.  Again  a  sound 

1  Cf .  Stern,  "  Psychische  Praesenzzeit "  in  Zt.  f .  Psych,  and  Physiol. 
d.  Sinnesorg.,  XIV  (1897),  p.  334,  336. 

2  On  transpositive  repetition  of  sounds  cf.  (aside  from  Brugmann's  and 
Meyer-Liibke's  compendia)  Wackernagel,    Kuhn's    Zt.,  XXXIII,  p.  9  ; 
Schulze,  ibid.,  p.  391 ;  Wackernagel,  Altind.  Gramm.,  §  239  (where  litera- 
ture). 

is  225 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

may  improperly  appear  at  a  wrong  place  of  the  word 
and  be  omitted  in  its  proper  place.  The  appearance  of 
a  sound  before  its  proper  time  may  be  called  proleptic 
transposition,  while  the  opposite  phenomenon  may  be 
termed  metaleptic  transposition.  Illustrations  are 
Meringer  and  Mayer's  "paufassen"  for  "aufpassen," 
"Wabretz"  for  "Wrabetz";  Italian  treato  for  teatro, 
Heraclean  rpdfyos  for  rdtfrpos. 

In  both  of  these  classes  there  is  no  interference  of  one 
sound  with  another  which  characterizes  the  following 
cases.  The  result  of  such  conflict  may  be  (1)  the  com- 
plete destruction  of  one  sound  and  the  substitution  for 
it  of  a  sound  which  precedes  or  follows,  as  in  Meringer 
and  Mayer's  "  Lokuskapital  "  for  "  Lotuskapital, "  or  in 
the  Sanskrit  "  assimilation  "  of  the  sibilants  in  pvdpura 
for  svdgura.  (2)  Instead  of  the  annihilation  of  one  of 
the  two  competing  sounds  we  may  have  both  preserved, 
the  result  being  a  metathesis  in  which  two  complete 
sounds  exchange  places.  Meringer  and  Mayer  cite 
"hestirisch"  for  "histerisch  (hysterisch),"  "Henela" 
for  "  Helena. "  Cases  like  apiOpew  for  apt#/Ae&>,  cr/ceTrro^at 
for  *  <T7retcTojj,ai  (Latin  spectare),  belong  here.  (3)  It  is 
an  interesting  question  whether  a  single  quality  of  a 
sound  may  be  anticipated.  Meringer  and  Mayer  claim 
this  for  a  number  of  cases  in  which  the  quantity  of  one 
vowel  seems  to  be  affected  by  that  of  a  following  one. 
Some  of  the  cases  quoted  by  them  can  be  regarded  as 
complete  sound  substitutions,  e.  #.,  the  lapsus  "zu- 
rechtgSlegt "  may  have  obtained  the  long  e  of  its  second 
syllable  by  simple  anticipation  of  the  long  e  of  the 
.fourth.  Other  cases  are  more  to  the  point,  such  as 
"  Hundsgrotte  von  Neapel "  with  its  lengthened  6  of 
"grStte."  It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  no  cases  are 
given  in  which  a  vowel  exercised  such  influence  over 

226 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

another  vowel  of  the  same  word,  and  it  might  be  well 
further  to  examine  how  prominent  a  part  stress  accent 
and  verse  ictus  played  in  this  lengthening.  In  the 
verse,  "O  wie  still  ist  hier  zu  fuhlen,"  quoted  by 
Meringer  and  Mayer,  both  word  accent  and  verse  ictus 
fall  on  the  i  of  "still"  and  may  have  lengthened  the 
vowel.  What  goes  under  the  name  of  "quantitative 
metathesis "  in  Greek  hardly  belongs  here.  This 
"  metathesis  "  is  confined  to  adjacent  vowels,  and  the 
quantitative  increase  of  the  second  vowel  is  probably 
compensative  in  its  nature,  going  parallel  with  a  quan- 
titative reduction  of  the  first.1 

The  anticipation  of  the  quality  of  a  consonant  which 
Meringer  and  Mayer  assume  for  the  lapsus,  "Diese 
Muse  ist  in  Pier  getauft "  (the  surd  mute  t  of  "getauft  " 
changing  the  sonant  B  of  "  Bier "  into  surd  P),  seems 
likewise  to  have  no  parallel  in  language.  The  Prakritic 
dhakai  for  *  ihagai  quoted  by  Wackernagel 2  is  too  un- 
certain and  differently  explained  by  Pischel.8 

The  only  phenomenon  which  might  be  classed  here 
is  the  effect  which  the  color  of  the  vowel  of  the  next 
syllable  is  sometimes  found  to  exert  upon  the  color  of 
the  previous  vowels.  The  term  "  umlaut "  is  often  used 
for  this.  Two  typical  cases  are  the  Old  High  German 
gesti  for  gasti,  and  the  Avestan  vohu  for  *  vahu 
(Sanskrit  vasu).  In  both  cases  the  position  of  the 
speech  organs  necessary  for  the  pronunciation  of  the 
second  vowel  has  been  partly  anticipated  during  the  ut- 

1  Brugmann,  Griech.  Gramm.  (3d  ed.  in  1.  v.  Miiller's  Handbnch),  p.  58, 
§  41  (end :  "  Die  quantitative  Reduktion  des  Vokales   der  ersten  Silbe 
ging  Hand  in  Hand  mit  Quantitatszuwachs  des  Vokals  der  zweiten ") ; 
also  Grundriss,  I  (2d  ed.),  part  II,  p.  799,  §  929. 

2  Altind.  Gramm.,  p.  277,  §  239  c,  note. 

8  Grammatik  d.  Prakritsprachen,  p.  158,  §  221,  and  p.  213,  §  309  (end). 

227 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

terance  of  the  first  vowel.  For  i  the  tongue  must 
assume  a  high  front  position ;  when  this  is  partly  antici- 
pated as  a  mid-front  position  during  the  first  syllable 
of  gasti,  the  a  is  —  topographically  speaking  —  raised 
to  e.  On  the  other  hand  u  requires  a  high  back  posi- 
tion of  the  tongue  and  rounding  of  the  lips.  If  this  is 
partly  anticipated  by  raising  of  the  tongue  to  a  mid- 
back  position  and  rounding  of  the  lips,  the  vowel  of  the 
first  syllable  must  appear  as  o.  Whenever  a  consonant 
separates  the  two  vowels  the  current  view,  first  pro- 
posed by  Scherer  (1868),1  is  that  this  partial  assimilation 
implies  two  steps.  "In  the  first  place  the  specific  artic- 
ulation of  the  vowel  affects  the  articulation  of  the 
intervening  consonant,  and  not  until  then  does  it  affect 
the  vowel  of  the  neighboring  syllable."  Stated  in  such 
general  terms,  this  view  is  not  tenable.  It  is  true  that 
an  i  in  the  second  syllable  may  thus  influence,  e.  g.,  a 
preceding  &,  by  palatalizing  it  (i.  e.,  drawing  the  place 
of  articulation  of  the  k  forward) ;  but  in  the  majority  of 
cases  such  an  influence  of  a  following  vowel  on  a  pre- 
ceding consonant  is  phonetically  impossible.  What 
effect  could  an  i  have  on  a  preceding  p  or  b  ?  And  yet 
we  have  Old  High  German  plural  lembir  to  lamb.  Or 
how  can  an  r  be  palatalized?  And  yet  we  have  heri 
(parallel  to  Gothic  harjis). 

Again,  in  the  Avestan  examples,  how  can  the  back 
elevation  of  the  tongue  have  been  anticipated  in  the  s 
of  mosu  (parallel  to  Sanskrit  maksu).  In  short,  the  phe- 
nomenon of  "umlaut"  is  in  general  a  direct  assimilation 

1  Z.  Gesch.  d.  deut.  Sprache,  p.  143.  Cf.  Brngmann,  Grundriss,  I  (2d  ed.), 
part  II,  §  961,  p.  834.  —  The  general  statement  in  Sievers'  Grundziige  der 
Phonetik,4  p.  257,  §  714,  is  considerably  modified  by  tbe  remarks  in  the 
next  paragraph  (§  715).  But  what  proof  is  there  to  show  that  in  chang- 
ing Old  Norse  hamdum  to  hondum  only  the  lip  rounding  was  anticipated 
while  the  tongue  position  was  maintained  ? 

228 


PHONETIC   CHANGE 

of  the  vowel  of  a  preceding  syllable  to  that  of  the  next. 
Contrary  to  Scherer's  view,  it  does  rest  upon  a  "psycho- 
logical anticipation."  Any  change  which  the  interven- 
ing consonant  may  undergo  is  purely  secondary  and 
accidental.  The  case  of  Avestan  l  yelti  (for  *ymti)  is 
different,  because  here  the  a  is  attacked,  as  it  were, 
from  both  sides,  being  preceded  by  a  high  front  spirant 
and  followed  in  the  next  syllable  by  a  high  front  vowel. 
The  simultaneous  presence  in  consciousness  of  two 
elements  of  the  same  word  is,  however,  only  the  condi- 
tion without  which  no  interference  can  take  place.  It  is 
not  an  adequate  explanation  of  such  interference.  For 
many  times  two  elements  of  the  same  word  may  be  sim- 
ultaneously present  without  any  sign  of  associative 
interference,  exactly  as  many  associations  of  two  words, 
by  sound  or  by  meaning,  do  not  lead  to  any  analogy 
formation.  As  in  this  latter  case,  so  here  we  must  ask 
for  the  special  forces  which  tend  to  break  down  the 
barriers  between  the  two  simultaneously  present  elements 
of  a  word  by  producing  an  unusually  close  association. 
One  of  these  factors,  noted  by  Meringer  and  Mayer,  is 
the  functional  equivalence  of  the  sounds  concerned; 
that  is,  those  sounds  which  occupy  corresponding  places 
tend  to  influence  one  another;  so  not  only  vowels  in- 
fluence other  vowels,  consonants  other  consonants,  but 
also  accented  vowels  other  accented  vowels,  a  consonant 
beginning  a  syllable  another  consonant  in  the  same  posi- 
tion. This  functional  equivalence  of  the  affected  and 
affecting  sounds  is  naturally  prominent  in  Meringer  and 
Mayer's  examples,  because  in  the  great  majority  of  their 
cases  the  two  sounds  belong  to  different  words ;  they  are 
lapses  of  the  tongue  within  a  phrase  rather  than  within 
a  word.  In  the  latter  case  functional  equivalence  is  of 

1  Brugmann,  Grundriss,  I  (2d  ed.),  part  I,  p.  i60,  §  176,  4. 
229 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

very  limited  application.  In  fact  it  is  by  no  means 
necessary  for  many  cases  of  associative  interference.  In 
the  determining  influence  which  the  vowel  of  the  ac- 
cented syllable  sometimes  exercises  over  the  unstressed 
neighboring  vowels1  in  the  Indo-European  languages 
(as  Latin  "volwmus"  but  "legimus,"  "monwmentum" 
but  "  ah'mentum  ")  we  have  a  faint  trace  of  that  dom- 
inating position  of  the  chief  syllable  which  in  the  Ural- 
Altaic  languages  has  become  an  important  grammatical 
means  by  which  the  affixes  are  more  closely  united  to 
the  stem.  For  in  these  languages  the  "law  of  vowel 
harmony "  demands  that  the  color  of  the  vowel  of  the 
suffix  should  correspond  to  that  of  the  stem.2 

But  of  considerably  greater  importance  is  prob- 
ably the  nature  of  the  surrounding  sounds.  Sounds 
are  attracted  toward  each  other  in  direct  proportion  to 
the  frequency  with  which  their  combination  occurs  in 
language.  In  treatro  the  initial  tr  represents  a  frequent 
combination,  the  tongue  passes  easily  from  t  to  r,  hence 
the  psychically  anticipated  tr  of  the  last  syllable  gains 
utterance.  In  netonatorum  it  is  not  only  the  fact  that  t 
stands  at  the  beginning  of  a  syllable  which  draws  it 
forward,  but  the  neighborhood  of  the  o.  As  in  "  treatro  " 
we  have  a  repetition  of  the  group  tr,  so  in  "netona- 
torum "  we  have  a  repetition  of  the  group  to.  Trans- 
position, then,  often  takes  place  when  the  sound  combina- 
tion produced  by  it  is  frequent  and  the  co-ordination  of 
movements  therefor  familiar,  so  that  the  weak  presence 
in  consciousness  of  a  preceding  or  following  group  may 
easily  turn  the  innervation  into  the  accustomed  path. 

1  Brugmann,  Grundriss,  I  (2d  ed.),  part  II,  p.  835,  §  962  ;  Schuchardt, 
.  Grober's  Zt.,  IV,  121 ;  Wechssler,  Forschungen  z.  roraan.  Philol.  Festg. 

f.  Suchier,  p.  491. 

2  "  Umlaut "  is  an  assimilation  in  the  opposite  direction. 

230 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

By  frequency  of  a  sound  group  we  need  not  always 
mean  absolute  frequency  of  the  group  in  general.  A 
particular  sound  group  may  be  especially  appropriate  at 
a  given  place.  Greek  *  airkicTo^ai  changed  to  o-AreVro/iat, 
not  because  TTT  was  absolutely  more  frequent  than  O-TT, 
but  because  in  this  particular  position  the  analogy  of 
/3A,a7TTo>,  AC/JUTTTO),  TVTTTw  and  many  others  was  decisive.1 

Finally,  the  similarity  of  the  movements  necessary  for 
two  sounds  produces  a  close  mental  union  of  the  two  and 
frequently  leads  to  interference.  The  difficulty  of  dis- 
tinguishing in  rapid  action  between  closely  similar  move- 
ments of  any  kind  tends  toward  assimilation.  Such 
sounds  are  the  varieties  of  sibilants,  hence  Sanskrit 
"svagura"  became  "§vacura."  The  material  collected  by 
Meringer  and  Mayer  deserves  to  be  scrutinized  with  a 
view  of  finding  those  factors  which  really  determined 
the  occurrence  of  a  given  definite  lapsus;  "Lokus- 
kapital "  owes  the  wrong  ~k  of  its  second  syllable  to  the 
fact  that  the  sequence  L-o-k-u-s  represents  a  well-known 
vocable ;  the  same  is  true  for  "  Nasslass  "  (for  "  Nach- 
lass";  "nass"=wet),  "paster  noster"  (for  "pater 
noster  " ;  "  paster  "  =  "  Pastor, "  "  minister  ") ;  in  "  Mulk- 
kuh  "  (for  "Melkkuh  ")  the  sequence  u-l-Tc  is  a  vocable 
(=  jest),  etc. 

The  direction  in  which  the  assimilation  takes  place  is, 
on  the  whole,  of  small  importance  as  far  as  the  psychol- 
ogy of  the  associative  process  is  concerned.  The  only 
difference  is  that  in  the  case  of  progressive  associations 
the  vocal  organs  have  just  executed  the  movements  of 
the  sound  which  is  repeated  in  a  subsequent  syllable, 
while  in  regressive  assimilations  this  physiological  ele- 

1  The  other  derivation  of  a-KevTOfiai  from  *(nr«'»cjo/uaj  (Latin  specie)  which 
first  became  *  a-Kfiri.ofj.at,  then  (r/ce'irrojuai  (Brugmann's  Griech.  Gramm.,8 
p.  296,  §  344,  note  2)  seems  therefore  less  plausible. 

231 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

ment  is  wanting.  The  factors  which  determine  the  di- 
rection are  by  no  means  clear,  though  the  frequency  of 
the  resulting  combination  is  undoubtedly  one  of  them. 
20  Apparently  the  opposite  of  the  assimilations  discussed 
in  the  preceding  paragraph  are  the  dissimilations  of 
which  Grammont1  has  made  a  careful  study,  without, 
however,  entering  upon  the  psychological  questions. 
Under  the  name  of  dissimilation  are  grouped  the  results 
of  two  distinct  processes.  On  the  one  hand  a  sound 
which  occurs  repeatedly  in  successive  syllables  may  be 
lost,  as  Greek  e/CTrayXos  for  *  €K7r\ay\os,  or  Sanskrit 
kumbhas  for  *  khumbhas  (for  the  aspirata  kh  is  as  much  a 
compound  sound  as  ?rX).  On  the  other  hand  one  of  the 
repeated  sounds  may  be  changed  into  another  sound,  as 
Italian  "Bologna"  for  "Bononia,"  vulgar  French  "car- 
cul"  for  "calcul."  The  Greek  *  <f>\av\o<;  shows  both 
developments,  namely,  <f>av\o$  and  </>\au/309. 

It  is  at  once  apparent  that  the  "  dissimilatory  loss  "  of 
a  repeated  consonant  is  in  no  way  similar  to  the  syncope 
(haplology)  of  one  of  two  similar  syllables  (p.  207). 
In  the  latter  case  the  initial  consonants  of  two  successive 
syllables  being  alike,  the  second  is  anticipated,  destroying 
the  dissimilar  part  of  the  first.  Nothing  of  this  kind 
happens  in  the  cases  of  "dissimilatory  loss."  In  some 
cases  which  are  placed  here  it  may  be  held  that  the 
particular  grouping  of  the  consonants  produces  the 
change ; 2  for  instance,  the  unusual  group  prp  changes  to 
779,  and  thus  Seprpov  becomes  Serpov.  There  seems  to 
be  no  difference  between  changes  like  *  /car/crave 3  to 

1  La  dissimilation  consonantique  dans  les  langues  indo-europeennes  et 
dans  les  langues  Romanes  (1895). 

2  Here,  as  elsewhere,  most  of  the  examples  are  taken  from  Bxugmann's 
Grundriss. 

8  Brngmann,  Griech.  Gramm.,8  p.  131,  §  121. 
232 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

(Homeric),  *  avfivda-eiev  to  dfivdo-etev  (Pindaric), 

*  K€fcafj,7r/j.at  to  /ce/ca/i/ttat,  &7#\o9  to  ecrXo?  (Lesbian),  and 
so-called  "  dissimilatory  changes  "  like  *  etW/ceo  (*feftA:- 
ovctw)  to  e/cr/ea>,  *  /SXaTrcr^ytio?  to  /3\ac7<£?7jt4o<?,  Seprpov  to 
Serpov  (Hesychian).     The  nature  of  the  sounds  consti- 
tuting these  groups  plays,  of  course,  an  important  part ; 
but  it  does  so  in  all  of  them,  and  yu-Tr/i  as  unusual  group 
is  on  the  same  level  with  K<TK.     Cases  like  €K7ray\o<;  for 

*  l/c7rXa7\o?,  however,  are  different.     A  common  group 
TT\  is  here  changed  to  simple  TT,  and  the  direct  influence 
of  the  A,  of  the  following  syllable  is  patent.     A  similar 
dissimilatory   loss,    only   in  the   opposite   direction,  is 
Spvfa/cTos  for  SpixfrpaKTo?.     These  cases  are  by  no  means 
clear.     Meringer  and  Mayer  suggest  that  an  explana- 
tion might  be   found  in  Strieker's  theory  of  separate 
cerebral  centres  for  each  individual  sound,  which  must 
be  successively  stimulated.     This  view,  Strieker  argued, 
seems   to  be  contradicted  by  the   fact  that  a  series  of 
syllables  containing  the  same  sound  may  simultaneously 
be  present  in  consciousness.    How  could,  in  the  passage 
"Roland  der  Riese,"   two  syllables   containing  R  be 
simultaneously  present,  if  there  is  only  one  centre  for 
R?    He  solves  the  difficulty  by  claiming  that  at  the 
moment  when  Ro-  is  in  the  focus  of  consciousness,  it  is 
not  "  Riese  "  which  rises  over  the  threshold  of  conscious- 
ness, but  "iese."     That  is,  the  ^-centre  can  be  stimu- 
lated only  once  at  a  time.     Upon  this  basis  Meringer 
and  Mayer  explain  the  dissimilatory  loss  of  p  in  &pv(j>a- 
/CTO?.     While  Spv-  is  in  the  focus  of  consciousness,  </>pa- 
KTO<;  begins    to  rise  into  consciousness,  but  its  image 
lacks  the  p  which  is  pre-empted  by  Spv.     This  p-less 
image  (-(/>a/eTo<?)  is,  then,  actually  pronounced.      But 
why  are  these  dissimilations  confined  to  a  few  definite 
sounds  (like  r,  I)?    Would  the  dissimilatory  loss  not 

233 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

necessarily  be  confined  to  cases  like  Spu^(/?)a/cT09,  while 
it  also  occurs  in  backward  direction,  as  in  e'/c7r(X,)a7\o<?  ? 
Above  all  things,  is  Strieker's  observation  correct  ?  With 
all  due  regard  to  the  trustworthiness  of  this  scholar  (to 
whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  first  investigations  of  the 
psychical  processes  in  speaking,  or  what  is  now  called 
"  internal  speech  ")  confirmation  of  his  assertion  must  be 
awaited. 

And  the  same  obscurity  prevails  with  regard  to  the 
causes  of  dissimilatory  substitution  of  similar  sounds, 
such  as  I  for  r,  or  n  for  I. 

A  solution  may  perhaps  be  looked  for  in  experiments 
with  some  simple  sequence  of  movements  (of  the  hands 
or  fingers)  and  the  dissimilatory  phenomena  which  may 
appear  in  it  when  performed  under  various  conditions  of 
speed,  etc.  It  may  also  be  that  an  investigation  of 
writing  may  yield  some  useful  data.  I  have  noticed 
that  in  my  own  writing  I  frequently  vary  between  two 
forms  of  a  letter  as  between  the  two  forms  of  e,  namely, 
e  (like  Greek  epsilon)  and  e,  as  in  "frequently." 
21  A  psychological  explanation  of  the  various  forms  of 
compensative  lengthening  was  given  by  March1  (1894) 
in  a  short  note  on  "  Time  and  Space  in  Word-Concepts  " : 
"It  takes  a  certain  time  to  utter  a  word.  Remem- 
brance of  the  word,  the  word-concept,  includes  time  as 
one  of  its  elements.  This  time  element  is  one  of  the 
most  persistent  of  the  elements  .  .  .  and,  in  the 
history  of  languages,  words  are  found  to  retain  their 
length  thru  the  most  varied  changes  of  the  quality  of 
sounds.  A  consonant  may  be  dropt,  and  the  preced- 
ing vowel  lengthend.  ...  A  vowel  dropt  and  pre- 
ceding vowel  lengthend.  A  vowel  dropt  and  consonant 
lengthend.  ...  A  consonant  dropt  and  another  con- 

1  Proceed.  Amer.  Phil.  Assoc.  (1894),  p.  liii. 
234 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

sonant  lengthend."  His  remark  concerning  the  defi- 
nite time-concept  associated  with  every  word  is  borne 
out  by  the  observation  that  in  reading  the  fact  that 
a  word  has  been  mutilated  is  often  discovered  be- 
fore the  exact  nature  of  the  mutilation  is  understood; 
another  proof  that  we  receive  words,  both  acoustically 
and  visually,  not  as  a  succession  of  so  many  indepen- 
dent sounds  or  letters,  but  in  their  totality. 

22  In  contrast  with  the  foregoing  changes  which  take 
place  within  the  same  individual  are  those  modifications 
which  are  the  result  of  the  transmission  of  speech  from 
one  individual  to  another.     Such  transmission  may  be 
either  to  an  individual  who  does  not  yet  possess  a  lan- 
guage of  his  own  (as  a  child),  or  to  an  individual  who 
possesses  a  language  of  his  own  upon  which  he  super- 
imposes a  foreign   one.      Again,  modifications   in   the 
transmission  of  speech  may  be  either  acoustic  and  visual, 
i.  e.,  due  to  the  manner  in  which  the  second  individual 
receives   the   new   sounds,    or  they  may  arise  during 
reproduction,  i.  e.,  when  the  second  individual  tries  to 
reproduce  the  new  sounds  which  he  has  heard. 

23  Those  who   are   familiar  with  a   language   often   do 
not  appreciate  how  much  or  how  little  they  really  hear 
of  the  sounds  which,  combined  into  words,  strike  their 
ears.     As  in  reading,  so  in  hearing  we   do  not  spell, 
but  receive  words  and  even  phrases  as  a  whole.     For 
this  reason  we  often  hear  and  read  what  we  expect  to 
hear  and  read,  supplying  from  memory  any  defects  (see 
p.  97).     In  reading,  for  instance,  the  upper  half  of  a 
line  may  be  covered  without  serious  interference.     Con- 
nected discourse  may  be  uttered  with  considerable  speed 
and  carelessness  without  becoming  in  the  least  unintelli- 
gible.    A  series  of  disconnected  words  (as  in  dictation) 
requires  greater  care  of  pronunciation  and  slower  tempo. 

235 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

A  new  combination  of  sounds  (as  an  unfamiliar  proper 
name)  will  still  more  easily  be  misunderstood  unless  the 
sounds  are  carefully  uttered.  Now  in  transmitting 
speech  to  the  child  there  are  no  previous  memories  with 
which  the  words  might  be  associated  and  acoustic  defects 
be  remedied,  and  the  powerful  restraint  of  orthograph- 
ical memories  is  wholly  wanting.  Acoustic  defects  are 
therefore  received  and  reproduced.  Most  of  them 
betray  themselves  at  once  to  the  parents  and  are  care- 
fully corrected,  but  some  are  of  so  subtle  a  nature  that 
they  may  escape.  The  two  combinations  written  -cl- 
and  -tl-^  for  instance,  though  produced  by  different 
articulations,  produce  nearly  the  same  acoustic  effect, 
and  the  substitution  of  one  articulation  for  the  other 
may  easily  go  unnoticed.  The  articulation  dlauben 
(for glauben,  "believe"),  which  Sievers  claims  fur  Sax- 
ony, is  my  own.  The  reverse  is  Mrs.  Gamp's  mankle 
(mantle)  and  Barklemy's  (Bartlmy's,  i.  e.,  Barthol- 
omew's). Latin  pia-clu-m  and  sclis  belong  here. 

Similar  confusions  may  arise  between  the  uvular  r  and 
velar  ch2  (as  in  German  "ach  "),  as  between  "  Waaren" 
(" wares  ")  and  "  Wagen "  ("wagon "  with  g  =  ch} ;  be- 
tween th  and/,3  as  in  "  nuffin  "  (nothing),  " fill-horse  "  for 
thill-horse,  etc.  Kruszewski 4  notes  a  Russian  palatal  t 
before  i  for  palatal  &,  dird  for  gird  ("weight").  If, 
then,  in  certain  cases  an  entirely  new  set  of  articulations 
may  be  substituted  by  the  child  for  that  of  its  parents 
without  perceptibly  altering  the  acoustic  effect  of  the 

1  Storm,   Engl.   Philol.,2  II,  p.  825 ;  Victor,  Elemente  d.  Phonetik,3 
p.  234,  §  107,  notes  2  and  6 ;  Schmidt- Wartenberg,  Mod.  Lang.  Notes,  III 
(1888),  p.  126,  192. — For  the  Latin,  cf.  Stolz  in  Stolz-Schmalz' Latein. 
Gramm.8  (I.  v.  Miiller's  Handbuch),  §  48,  p.  69  (where  literature). 

2  Vietor,  Elemente  d.  Phonetik,8  p.  165,  §  76,  note  2. 
8  Storm,  Engl.  Philol.,2  II,  p.  825. 

*  Techmer's  Internal.  Zt.  Ill,  p.  148. 
236 


PHONETIC   CHANGE 

sound,  it  is  possible  that  these  new  articulations  in  the 
course  of  time  may  pursue  a  line  of  independent  devel- 
opment which  will  produce  variations  in  the  sound  of 
the  second  generation,  which  in  the  mouth  and  with  the 
articulation  of  the  parents  it  could  never  have  under- 
gone. 

How  far  failure  to  perceive  the  sound  correctly 
influences  speech  is  yet  to  be  investigated.  In  all 
phonetic  work  the  physiological  aspect  of  production 
is  so  strongly  emphasized  that  the  acoustic  aspect  of 
reception  is  almost  lost  sight  of,  which,  after  all,  is 
the  controlling  factor  in  the  acquisition  of  speech  and 
in  the  formation  of  those  habits  of  muscular  articula- 
tion which  are  comprised  under  the  name  of  "basis 
of  articulation." 

In  this  connection  attention  must  be  drawn  to  the 
observations  of  Tarver  and  Miss  Wiltse.1  Tarver  found 
in  his  experiments  on  school  children  an  inability  to  dis- 
tinguish certain  shades  of  sound,  as  in  the  case  of  a  boy 
who  was  not  deaf,  yet  could  hear  no  difference  between 
"very,"  "perry,"  and  "polly,"  and  he  was  informed  by 
teachers  that  they  not  uncommonly  met  with  children 
slow  to  learn  to  read,  because  sounds  different  to  their 
teachers  are  not  different  to  them.  Whether  we  may 
speak  here  with  Chrisman  of  a  psychical  "  sound-deaf- 
ness "  similar  to  aphasic  "  word-deafness  "  is  a  matter  to 
be  determined  by  further  investigations. 

We  have  seen  above  (§  9)  that  under  certain  condi- 
tions certain  movements  intended  to  produce  sound  are 
inaudible,  usually  because  two  articulations  overlap 

1  J.  C.  Tarver,  London  Journal  of  Education  (new  series),  vol.  IX  (1887), 
p.  475;  S.  E.  Wiltse,  Americ.  Journal  of  Psychology,  vol.  I  (1887-8), 
p.  702.  Both  are  reported  by  Chrisman,  The  Pedagogical  Seminary,  II 
(1892),  426. 

237 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

and  impair  the  acoustic  value  of  the  combination. 
Rousselot's  Note  sur  les  sons  disparaissants 1  illustrates 
the  point  well.  His  tracing  shows  that  a  sound  may  be 
physiologically  alive  while  acoustically  dead  ("les 
lettres  vivent  encore  alors  que  nous  les  croyons  mortes, 
et  leurs  derniers  moments  nous  e"chappent  comme  leurs 
premiers  ").  In  comparing  the  tracings  for  dp  (=  "ar- 
bre," in  the  dialect  of  La  Chausse'e,  Meuse)  and  for 
the  ordinary  compound  a  -j-  p,  it  is  seen  that  in  the 
latter  the  closure  of  the  lips  for  p  follows  immediately 
upon  the  vibratory  curve  which  indicates  the  laryngeal 
tone  of  the  a;  but  in  dp  (=  arbre)  there  is  a  short  inter- 
val between  the  a  (traced  by  its  laryngeal  vibrations) 
and  the  ^-closure, 


Larynx. 


Lips 


ap  =  arbre  dp 

This  brief  intervening  space,  which  remains  without 
acoustic  effect,  undoubtedly  represents  the  imperfect 
muscular  movement  for  the  "  silent "  r.  Similar  physi- 
ological movements  without  sound  may  be  observed  in 
the  colloquial  abbreviations  "n'Morgen,"  "y'do"  (for 
"Guten  Morgen,"  "how  do  you  do"),  where  the  mus- 
cles begin  their  work  with  the  t  of  'tn  Morgen,  and  the 
d  of  d'  y'  do,  but  the  word  does  not  begin  acoustically 
till  the  n  or  y  is  reached.2  Since  language  is  acquired 
by  the  child  through  the  ear,  such  silent  movements 

1  Modifications,  p.  143. 

2  I  notice  the  same  phenomenon  in  the  abbreviated  phrases  "  [Have]  y' 
found  him  1 "  or  "  [Have  y']  found  him  ?  "  where  the  bracketed  part  con- 
sists of  rudimentary  movements  without  sound. 

238 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

will  be  omitted.  The  same  is  true  of  faint  sounds,  as 
the  Southern  English  A,  which  is  weak  and  hardly 
different  from  the  usual  "breathed"  beginning  of  an 
initial  vowel.  The  difference  between  this  Southern 
English  h  and  the  American  or  Irish  h  is  so  pronounced 
that  it  does  not  take  a  phonetician  to  note  it.  A  careful 
observer  like  Mr.  Bernard  Shaw,  in  a  note  appended 
to  the  last  one  of  his  Three  Plays  for  Puritans,1  which, 
on  account  of  the  cockney  dialect  of  one  of  its  char- 
acters, is  of  considerable  linguistic  interest,  remarks: 
"In  America,  representations  of  English  speech  dwell 
too  derisively  on  the  dropped  or  interpolated  h.  Amer- 
ican writers  have  apparently  not  noticed  the  fact 
that  the  South  English  h  is  not  the  same  as  the  never- 
dropped  Irish  and  American  h,  and  that  to  ridicule  an 
Englishman  for  dropping  it  is  as  absurd  as  to  ridicule 
the  whole  French  and  Italian  nation  for  doing  the  same. 
The  American  A,  helped  out  by  a  general  agreement  to 
pronounce  wh  as  hw,  is  tempestuously  audible,  and 
cannot  be  dropped  without  being  immediately  missed. 
The  London  h  is  so  comparatively  quiet  at  all  times, 
and  so  completely  inaudible  in  wh,  that  it  probably  fell 
out  of  use  simply  by  escaping  the  ears  of  children  learn- 
ing to  speak.  However  that  may  be,  it  is  kept  alive 
only  by  the  literate  classes  who  are  reminded  con- 
stantly of  its  existence  by  seeing  it  on  paper." 
24  In  preliterary  times  the  acoustic  channel  is  the  only 
one  through  which  speech  is  conveyed  from  one  genera- 
tion to  another.  Afterwards,  when  part  of  the  linguis- 
tic stock  is  transmitted  in  writing,  the  visual  factor  be- 
comes important,  and  the  relation  of  sound  to  letter,  of 
orthoe'py  to  orthography,  a  necessary  auxiliary  for  all 
phonetic  investigation  and  of  great  methodological 
1  P.  314.  Cf.  Victor's  Elemente  d.  Phonetik.,3  p.  21,  §  30. 
239 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

value.  How  far  the  inscriptions  of  Cicero's  or  of  Au- 
gustus' time  represent  the  actual  pronunciation,  to  what 
degree  they  maintained  a  conventional  spelling  which 
was  no  longer  phonetic,  are  questions  of  the  utmost 
importance.  A  reaction  against  the  older  method 
which  dealt  with  letters  instead  of  sounds  is  apt  to 
lead  to  another  extreme;  it  regards  all  ancient  docu- 
ments as  phonetically  written,  dates  sound  changes  ac- 
cording to  the  time  when  they  appear  in  writing,  and 
is  inclined  to  endow  orthographical  variations  with 
phonetic  significance. 

That  in  our  own  book-ridden  education  the  spelling- 
book  has  considerable  influence  on  pronunciation  is 
easily  seen  by  a  perusal  of  the  cases  lately  collected  by 
E.  Koeppel.1  The  th  of  author  comes  from  this  source, 
as  do  the  pronunciation  (current  hereabout)  "  Nor-wich  " 
(for  Norrich)  and  "  Green-wich  "  (for  Grmidge). 

So  much  for  the  reception  of  speech  by  children.  In 
the  case  of  the  aural  acquisition  of  a  foreign  idiom  it 
must  be  further  noted  that  the  ear  of  each  individual  is 
trained  for  the  speech  sounds  of  his  native  language, 
and  that  it  is  a  very  imperfect  instrument  in  correctly 
perceiving  foreign  sounds.  The  following  passage  of 
von  den  Steinen's  account  of  his  sojourn  among  the 
Indians  of  Central  Brazil  records  a  typical  fact : 2  "  Their 
perception  of  the  Portuguese  was  even  more  defective 
than  they  themselves  suspected.  They  (i.  e.,  the 
Bakairi  Indians)  do  not  possess  an /and  use  p  instead. 
When  I  said  fogo  ('fire  '),  fumo  ('tobacco  ' ),  they  said 
pogo,  pumo.  But  they  really  heard  or,  more  correctly, 

1  Spelling-Pronunciations.     Qnellen   n.   Forsch.   z.  Sprach-  u.  Cultur- 
gesch.  (1901)  Heft  89.     Cf.  also  Sweet,  New  English  Grammar,  I  (1892), 
p.  270,  §  831. 

2  Unter  den  Naturvolkern  Zentral-Brasiliens  (1894),  p.  80. 

240 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

perceived  the  f  as  JP,  and,  as  far  as  I  could  make  out, 
they  were  firmly  convinced  that  they  repeated  the  same 
sound  as  I  pronounced  it  for  them.  For  they  behaved 
very  differently  when  I  gave  them  a  word  of  too  many 
syllables;  then  they  toiled  and  struggled  and  finally 
despaired ;  but/o^o,  fumo,  /  .  .  .  —  the  more  distinctly 
and  loudly  I  pronounced  it,  the  more  distinctly  and 
loudly  they  repeated  their  pogo,  pumo^  p  .  .  .,  becom- 
ing noticeably  put  out  at  my  failure  to  be  satisfied." 
As  each  member  of  a  speech  community  has  his  well- 
defined  set  of  articulations  (basis  of  articulation),  so  he 
also  possesses  a  clearly  circumscribed  basis  of  aural  per- 
ception. He  does  not,  without  special  and  careful  train- 
ing, hear  the  foreign  sounds  as  they  are,  but  he  hears 
them  through  the  medium  of  the  acoustic  memories  of 
his  native  sounds.  This  is  simply  another  illustration 
of  the  well-known  fact  that  our  senses  are  trained  for  a 
limited  number  of  purposes  and  that  our  ears  are  no 
more  free  to  perceive  any  sound  than  our  muscles  are 
free  to  perform  any  movement.  The  difficulty  in  learn- 
ing a  foreign  language  is  as  much  an  acoustic  as  a  phys- 
iological one.  Because  of  a  failure  to  perceive  the 
sounds  correctly,  the  name  of  the  German  poet  Schiller 
appears  as  Giller  in  the  minutes  of  the  Assemble 
Nationale,  as  Gilleers  in  the  Moniteur  of  Aug.  26, 
1792,  and  as  Gille  in  the  Bulletin  des  Lois.1  Such 
"acoustic"  substitutions  must  be  assumed  wherever 
sound-substitution  is  not  the  result  of  the  absence  of 
certain  sounds  in  the  alphabet  of  a  language.  In  the 
Negro  English  of  Surinam,  for  instance,  initial  r  often 
changes  to  Z,  but  intervocalic  or  post-consonantal  I 
appears  as  r.  The  chance  for  such  mishearing  of 

1  Hunziger,  in  Verhandl.  d.  VersammL  cleut.  Philol.,  etc.,  zu  Zurich 
(1887),  p.  306.     Cf.  Egli,  ibid.,  p.  101. 
16  241 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

sounds  is  the  greater,  as  the  foreign  sounds  are  not 
learned  singly  but  in  words,  and  with  each  foreign  word 
a  native  word  is  easily  associated,  a  process  which  fur- 
ther tends  to  blunt  the  sound  perception.  One  of  the 
female  characters  in  Turgenieff's  Spring  Floods1  "dis- 
covered in  the  Russian  language  a  wonderful  resem- 
blance to  Italian.  Mgnovanie  ('moment')  sounded  like 
o  vieni,  so  mnoi  ('with  me')  like  siam  noi."  A  Ger- 
man grocer  of  my  acquaintance  pronounces,  and  un- 
doubtedly hears,  the  English  "wholesale  "  as  "Holzol."2 
The  influence  of  spelling  upon  foreigners  depends 
upon  the  conditions  under  which  they  acquire  the  foreign 
language.  Where  it  is  mainly  by  eye  these  cases  are 
innumerable  and,  remaining  uncorrected,  become  habit- 
ual. In  fact  the  danger  of  allowing  spelling  to  inter- 
fere with  pronunciation  is  the  reason  why  a  phonetic 
transcription  has  been  strongly  urged  for  beginners. 
25  In  the  reproduction  of  speech  sounds  while  they  are 
being  acquired  children  differ  in  the  rapidity  with  which 
they  attain  perfection.  By  perfection  must  here  be 
understood  the  facility  to  produce  sounds  —  by  what- 
ever means  —  which  shall  be  considered  by  the  adult 
members  of  the  community  as  acoustically  equivalent  to 
those  which  they  themselves  use.  This  leaves  two 
possibilities  of  change  in  the  reproduction  of  sounds  by 
children.  In  the  first  place  they  may  use  a  different 
articulation  in  order  to  reproduce  the  sound  heard.  This 
they  may  do,  as  was  pointed  out  above,  on  account  of  a 
wrong  aural  perception  of  the  sound.  They  may  like- 
wise do  so  in  the  reproduction  of  a  sound  rightly  per- 
ceived. For  if  it  is  true  that  like  configurations  of  the 
speech  organs  produce  like  sounds,  it  is  conversely  true 

1  End  of  chapter  v. 

2  Pronounced  Holsol,  not  H61tsol. 

242 


PHONETIC   CHANGE 

that  the  same  sound  may  sometimes  be  produced  by 
different  articulations,  provided  only  that  defects  in  one 
quarter  should  be  compensated  for  in  another.  By 
means  of  radiographs  it  may  become  possible  to  collect 
a  sufficient  material  of  actual  compensations  to  obtain  an 
idea  to  what  extent  they  take  part  in  the  transmutation 
of  speech  when  it  passes  from  one  generation  to  an- 
other. So  far  the  most  extended  observations  are  those 
of  Grandgent  and  Sheldon.1 

It  has  been  suggested  that  in  certain  cases  the  child 
is  forced  so  to  resort  to  compensatory  articulation  in 
order  to  repeat  a  sound  which  he  perceives  correctly. 
The  speech  apparatus  of  the  child  is  of  much  smaller 
dimensions  than  that  of  the  adult.  Wherever,  there- 
fore, a  definite  resonance  is  required,  it  would  seem 
that  the  infant  must  adjust  its  oral  cavity  differently 
from  the  adult,  for  the  child  must  in  some  way  make 
compensation  for  the  smallness  of  his  resonance  cham- 
ber, and  he  can  do  so  by  changing  the  angle  of  the  jaw, 
the  position  of  the  tongue,  or  the  configuration  of  his 
lips.  Such  compensation  was  first  alluded  to  by  Helm- 
hoi  tz,2  who  was  led  to  it  by  his  theory  of  a  fixed  charac- 
teristic pitch  for  the  vowels.  These  fixed  pitches 
depending  on  the  resonance  of  the  oral  cavity  he  found 
in  general  the  same  for  men,  women,  and  children. 
"  Whatever  the  oral  cavity  of  women  or  children  lacks  in 
size  may  easily  be  compensated  for  by  narrowing  the 
orifice  so  that  the  pitch  may  be  made  as  low  as  that  of 
the  largest  oral  cavity  in  man."  That  the  "may"  in 

1  Mod.  Lang.  Notes,  III  (1888),  p.  358.     Cf.  also  Victor,  Elemente  d. 
Phonetik,3  p.  36,  §  36,  note  1. 

2  Helmholtz,  Lehre  v.  den  Tonempfindnngen,  p.  171.     For  the  contro- 
versy on  this  passage  see  Victor,  Phonet.  Stud.,  II,  62 ;   Lloyd,  Zt.  f. 
franz.  Sprache  n.  Litteratnr,  XV,  2d  part,  p.  205  ;  Pipping,  ihid.,  XV,  2d 
part,  p.  165,  and  Acta  Societatis  Fennicae,  XX  (1885),  No.  11,  p.  6. 

243 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

this  passage  equals  "must,"  and  that  the  particular 
compensation  by  narrowing  of  the  orifice  is  meant  as 
illustration  seems  clear  to  me,  in  spite  of  Lloyd's  objec- 
tions. Much  greater  weight  must  be  attached  to  Lloyd's 
other  objection  to  such  enforced  compensation.  "  The 
vocal  organs  of  a  man  are,  roughly  speaking,  about 
twice  as  large  in  each  lineal  dimension  as  those  of  an 
infant.  It  is  quite  permissible  to  postulate  a  particular 
case  where  this  ratio  would  hold  good  exactly.  In 
such  a  case  the  resonances  of  the  cavities  would  always 
differ  exactly  by  an  octave.  .  .  .  Therefore  the  infant's 
vowel  resonances  would  need  to  be  reduced  in  every 
case  by  a  severe  contraction  of  the  labial  orifice.  [Here 
Pipping  rightly  objects  that  compensation  may  be 
brought  about  in  other  ways  also.]  .  .  .  This  reducing 
process  would  require  the  infant's  orifice  to  be  made 
sixty-four  times  smaller  in  area  than  is  the  man's  orifice 
for  any  given  vowel."  This  question,  again,  will  hardly 
be  settled  by  inferences,  but  by  direct  observation, 
when  radiographs  of  the  exact  articulations  in  man  and 
child  are  available. 

Bremer  and  Pipping 1  have  both  seen  how  important 
the  theory  of  compensation  is  for  the  development  of 
language.  "On  the  one  hand,"  says  Pipping,  "it  will 
happen  that  the  compensative  articulations  by  which  the 
child  may  obtain  the  low  resonance  pitch  of  adults  may 
be  so  inconvenient  that  faithful  imitation  of  the  vowel 
sound  is  sacrificed  to  convenience ;  it  is  even  probable 
that  certain  not  insignificant  changes  in  sound  are  un- 
avoidable. On  the  other  hand  the  child,  when  it  faith- 
fully reproduces  the  vowels  of  adults,  is  forced  to  resort 

1  Bremer,  Deutsche  Phonetik,  Preface,  p.  xvi ;  Pipping,  Zt.  f.  franz. 
Spr.  u.  Litt.,  XV,  2d  part,  p.  165,  and  Acta  Societatis  Fennicae,  XX 
(1885),  No.  11,  p.  10. 

244 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

to  other  means  of  articulation.  The  speech  of  the  child 
must  [as  far  as  vowels  are  concerned ;  it  may  in  other 
cases]  differ  from  that  of  adults  either  acoustically  or 
physiologically,  or  in  both  ways  together.  Many  of 
these  differences  will  disappear  as  years  go  by,  but 
some  are  sure  to  remain."  In  other  words,  in  some 
cases,  when  trying  to  imitate  a  definite  sound,  the  child, 
on  account  of  the  size  of  his  organs,  may  be  forced  to 
acquire  a  habit  of  articulation  differing  from  that  of  his 
parents,  in  other  cases  it  may  do  so  without  necessity. 
In  these  respects  the  basis  of  articulation  which  the 
child  is  building  up  will  differ  from  that  of  his  parents. 
The  oftener  the  movements  for  these  sounds  are  repeated 
the  more  firmly  fixed  they  become.  If  he  carries  these  in- 
fantile articulations  intended  for  his  small  speech  appara- 
tus into  his  adult  pronunciation  with  its  larger  organs,  the 
effect  must  be  that  these  sounds  will  then  become  acous- 
tically different  from  those  which  his  parents  used. 

The  following  diagram  may  illustrate  how  the  sound  S 
changes  to  Sx  in  passing  from  one  generation  to  another :  — 

Adult,  with  large 
speech  organs,  by  an 
articulation  A  pro- 
duces a  sound  S 


Child,  with  small  speech 
organs,  correctly  per- 
ceives the  sound  S,  and 
reproduces  it  by  compen- 
satory articulation  Aj. »Child,  becoming  adult, 

retains  this  changed 
articulation  Aj  in 
spite  of  enlarging 
organs,  and  ulti- 
mately thus  pro- 
duces a  sound  Sr 
245 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

If  these  considerations  are  borne  out  by  future  inves- 
tigations we  have  here  cases  of  a  gradual  transition  of 
sounds ;  gradual  because  depending  on  the  slow  growth 
of  the  organs  of  speech.  This  gradual  change,  due  to 
the  modification  of  articulation,  takes  place  in  the  trans- 
mission of  speech  from  one  generation  to  another,  and  it 
takes  place  here  only.  Paul  assumes  a  variability  of 
articulation  in  the  adult.  According  to  him,  even  after 
the  acquisition  of  a  definite  "basis  of  articulation,"  there 
remains  a  margin  within  which  the  pronunciation  of  the 
same  word  in  the  same  position  may  vary.  A  certain 
uncertainty  continues.  The  motory  sensations,  or,  as  I 
have  called  them,  the  diatheses,  are  in  a  constant  flux, 
because  slightly  different  articulations  continually  in- 
terfere with  them.  Every  new  movement  changes  them. 
For  the  assumption  of  such  variability  of  pronunciation  I 
can  find  no  experimental  support.  On  the  contrary 
theoretical  considerations  concerning  the  formation  jof 
the  basis  of  articulation  and  the  observations  of  Rousse- 
lot  and  Bourdon  go  to  show  that  the  articulations  in 
the  adult  do  not  change  but  are  permanent  (see  above, 
p.  104).  Nor  is  it  true  that  any  chance  modification  will 
seriously  disturb  a  diathesis  formed  by  long  practice 
simply  because  it  is  more  recent  than  the  former  impres- 
sions. And,  finally,  Paul  is  forced  to  assume  that  all 
the  deviations  are  in  one  direction.  For  he  himself 
admits  that  otherwise  they  will  counteract  each  other. 
And  so  this  variability  of  pronunciation  does  not,  after 
all,  furnish  an  explanation  for  speech  changes,  but  we 
must  look  further  for  a  cause  which  produces  those 
constant  deviations  from  the  normal  habit  of  articula- 
tions. In  fact  this  variation  of  articulation  is  not  the 
cause  of  any  changes,  but  the  necessary  effect  which 
other  causes  produce.  It  has  always  appeared  strange 

246 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

to  me  that  Paul,  who  was  the  first  to  introduce  the  idea 
of  "  motory  sensations  "  ("  Bewegungsgef iihl ")  into  lin- 
guistic literature,  devotes  so  large  a  space  of  his  chapter 
on  sound  change  to  an  attempt  to  derive  modifications  of 
sound  from  the  variability  of  these  motory  sensations, 
which  are,  in  reality,  the  conservative  principle  in 
speech,  and  has  so  little  elaborated  the  acoustic  side  of 
the  problem,  while  yet  declaring  "  that  the  chief  cause 
for  sound  changes  lies  in  the  transfer  of  sounds  from 
one  individual  to  another." 

26  The  case  of  reproduction  of  sounds  of  a  new  language 
by  the  adult  foreigner  is  parallel  to  his  aural  reception 
of  these  sounds.  As  his  ear  was  trained  for  a  certain 
number  of  sounds,  and  as  he  associates  foreign  sounds 
with  familiar  ones,  and  hears  them  as  such,  so  also  his 
speech  organs  are  trained  in  a  definite  series  of  move- 
ments, in  which  they  have  become  thoroughly  set,  new 
movements  are  associated  with  these  old  ones,  and  the 
old  movements  prevail.  This  is  so  much  the  more 
easily  done,  as  the  corrective  influence  of  the  ear  is 
wanting.  It  is  an  open  question  whether  the  ear  is  not 
more  responsible  for  a  foreign  "accent"  or  "brogue" 
than  the  speech-organs.  My  observation  is  that  those 
who  most  imperfectly  pronounce  a  foreign  language  are 
usually  not  at  all  aware  of  their  imperfections,  and  that 
those  with  a  good  ear  are  apt  imitators.  Here,  too,  the 
acoustic  factor  is  probably  of  greater  importance  than  is 
usually  assumed,  and  the  substitution  of  French  z  for 
English  surd  th,  of  German  ff  for  the  u  in  English  "but," 
rests  upon  an  acoustic  rather  than  a  physiological  basis. 
Where  changes  are  physiological  they  do  not  so  much 
concern  single  sounds  as  the  general  manner  of  moving 
and  using  our  organs  of  speech,  and  they  affect,  there- 
fore, the  whole  phonetic  alphabet  and  the  combination 

247 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

of  sounds  into  words.  In  this  are  included  stress,  pitch, 
and  tempo,  three  very  characteristic  factors  for  every 
dialect.  It  is  these  common  characteristics  of  the  sound 
system  of  a  given  language  which  Sievers l  called  "  basis 
of  operation  "  and  which  are  now  commonly  referred  to 
as  "basis  of  articulation  "  or  "organic  basis  "  (Sweet).2 
Where  the  contrast  is  marked,  as  in  the  English  and 
French  bases,  the  most  characteristic  points  of  each 
are  easily  noted.  In  English  the  tongue  is  flat  and 
relaxed,  its  position  low,  and  it  is  retracted  from  the 
teeth;  this  results  in  wide  vowels,  produces  weaken- 
ing of  the  unstressed  ones,  and  has  a  tendency  to  lower 
the  first  members  of  diphthongs  (as  IcFdy  for  "  lady " 
\leidy~]}.  In  French  the  tongue  movement  is  energetic, 
forward,  and  its  dorsum  raised,  the  result  being  narrow 
vowels,  and  conservation  of  vowels  in  unstressed  sylla- 
bles (although  it  must  be  noted  that  the  French  stress 
is  much  weaker  than  the  Teutonic).  Again,  the  lips  in 
English  remain  quiescent,  in  French  they  are  very  ac- 
tive, hence  modified  vowels  are  wanting  in  the  former. 
Supposing,  then,  that  a  dialectal  group  gives  up  its  own 
vernacular  and  adopts  a  foreign  language  (either  wholly 
alien,  or  more  or  less  related  to  its  own),  certain  changes 
are  bound  to  take  place  which  aro  due  partly  to  acoustic, 
partly  to  physiological  causes;  for,  on  the  one  hand, 
sounds  will  be  wrongly  perceived,  on  the  other  hand 
they  will  be  modified  in  reproduction,  because  the  native 
basis  of  articulation  is  transferred  to  the  foreign  idiom. 
Speech  mixture,  therefore,  may  become  a  very  important 
factor  in  changing  a  language,  not  only  phonetically,  of 

1  Sievers'  Grundziige  d.  Phonetik  (2d  ed.,  1885),  p.  83. 

2  Bibliography  of  descriptions  of  different  bases   of  articulation  in 
Storm,  Engl.  Philol.,2  I,  p.  84.     Cf .  also  Victor,  Elemente  d.  Phonetik,8 
p.  262,  §  127  ff. 

248 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

course,  but  also  in  affecting  its  vocabulary,  and  even  its 
structure.  This  is  so  patent  a  fact  that  the  differentia- 
tion of  a  parent  language  into  various  more  or  less 
unlike  languages  was  very  early  explained  as  due,  to  a 
certain  extent  at  least,  to  speech  mixture. 
27  In  his  third  Anniversary  Discourse,  delivered  on 
Feb.  2,  1786,  Sir  William  Jones1  said:  "It  is  much 
to  be  lamented,  that  neither  the  Greeks  who  attended 
ALEXANDER  into  India,  nor  those  who  were  long  con- 
nected with  it  under  the  Bactrian  Princes,  have  left  us 
any  means  of  knowing  with  accuracy,  what  vernacular 
languages  they  found  on  their  arrival  in  this  Empire. 
The  Mohammedans,  we  know,  heard  the  people  of  proper 
Hindustan,  or  India  on  a  limited  scale,  speaking  a 
Bhdshd,  or  living  tongue,  of  a  very  singular  construc- 
tion, the  purest  dialect  of  which  was  current  in  the  dis- 
tricts round  Agra  and  chiefly  on  the  poetical  ground  of 
Mafhurd ;  and  this  is  commonly  called  the  idiom  of 
Vraja.  Five  words  in  six,  perhaps,  of  this  language 
are  derived  from  the  Sanscrit,  in  which  books  of  religion 
and  science  are  composed,  and  which  appears  to  have 
been  formed  by  an  exquisite  grammatial  arrangement,  as 
the  name  itself  implies,  from  some  unpolished  idiom; 
but  the  basis  of  the  Hindustdnl,  particularly  the .  inflec- 
tions and  regimen  of  verbs,  differed  as  widely  from  both 
those  tongues,  as  Ardbick  differs  from  Persian,  or  Ger- 
man from  Greek.  Now  the  general  effect  of  conquest 
is  to  leave  the  current  language  of  the  conquered  people 
unchanged,  or  very  little  altered  in  its  groundwork,  but 
to  blend  with  it  a  considerable  number  of  exotick  names 
both  for  things  and  for  actions ;  as  it  has  happened  in 
every  country,  that  I  can  recollect,  where  the  conquerors 
have  not  preserved  their  own  tongue  unmixed  with  that 
1  Asiatick  Researches  (1788),  I,  p.  421. 
249 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

of  the  natives,  like  the  Turks  in  Greece,  and  the  /Saxons 
in  Britain  ;  and  this  analogy  might  induce  us  to  believe 
that  the  pure  Hindi,  whether  of  Tartarian  or  Chaldean 
origin,  was  primeval  in  Upper  India,  into  which  the 
Sanscrit  was  introduced  by  conquerors  from  other  king- 
doms in  some  very  remote  age;  for  we  cannot  doubt 
that  the  language  of  the  Veda's  was  used  in  the  great 
extent  of  country  which  has  before  been  delineated,  as 
long  as  the  religion  of  Brahma  has  prevailed  in  it." 
Friedrich  Schlegel  devotes  the  sixth  chapter l  of  his 
tiber  die  Sprache  und  Weisheit  der  Indier  (1808)  to  a 
discussion  of  the  same  topic.  If  the  Indo-European 
languages  were  once  a  single  idiom,  whence,  he  asks, 
come  the  great  differences  which  now  separate  them? 
These  differences  are  too  great  to  be  the  result  of  geo- 
graphical or  psychological  causes  only.  "It  is  neces- 
sary to  add  another  factor  to  explain  such  differences 
fully ;  something  which  can  partly  be  proved  by  gram- 
matical investigations,  and  partly  can  be  made  plausible 
by  a  study  of  historical  events.  All  these  derived  lan- 
guages, just  as  the  nations  which  speak  them,  have 
undergone  a  mixture  with  foreign  elements,  which 
differed  in  the  different  cases.  And  this  necessarily 
tended  to  differentiate  them  even  more  (than  the  other 
causes).  I  do  not  simply  refer  to  such  admixtures  as 
of  Arabic  in  Persian,  and  of  French  in  English,  where 
the  adopted  words,  because  they  do  not  adapt  them- 
selves to  the  grammatical  form  of  the  other  language, 
immediately  betray  their  foreign  origin  .  .  . ;  but  I 
refer  to  admixtures  which  are  much  older  and  have 
formally  assimilated  themselves."  And  Humboldt2 

1  P.  71. 

2  tJber   das  vergleichende   Sprachstudium   (Abhandl.  d.  Kgl.  Akad. 
d.  Wiss.  zu  Berlin,  1820-21,  published  1822)  =  Ges.  Werke,  III  (1843), 
p.  244,  §  6). 

250 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

(1821):  "The  mixture  of  several  dialects  is  one  of 
the  most  important  factors  in  the  genesis  of  lan- 
guages. Sometimes  the  resultant  language  receives 
new  elements  of  greater  or  smaller  importance  from 
the  others  which  are  fused  with  it;  at  other  times 
a  highly  developed  language  will  degenerate  and 
deteriorate,  accepting  but  little  of  the  foreign  mate- 
rial, but  interrupting  the  normal  progress  of  its  devel- 
opment by  using  its  more  refined  forms  after  foreign 
models,  and  thus  defacing  them."  Finally  Scherer1 
(1868)  brought  more  distinctly  forward  the  phonetic 
side  when  in  his  careful  discussion  of  the  reasons  for 
phonetic  changes  he  wrote:  "What  influence,  on  the 
phonetic  side  also,  may  we  not  assume  to  have  taken 
place  whenever  a  nation,  or  part  of  a  nation,  endeavored 
to  appropriate  the  treasures  of  a  foreign  civilization! 
Not  that  I  can  give  here  concrete  instances  of  such 
an  influence ;  it  is  simply  my  intention  to  suggest  possi- 
ble directions  for  future  investigations."  Ascoli,  who, 
in  1854,  had  alluded  in  general  terms  to  language  mix- 
ture 2  as  one  of  the  causes  for  linguistic  change,  was  the 
first3  to  give  definite  and  concrete  examples,  such  as 
the  change  of  Latin  u  to  u  in  Celtic  mouths,  and  the 
change  of  Latin  /  to  h  on  Iberian  soil.  There  are  three 
different  tests  by  which,  according  to  Ascoli,  such  an 
"  ethnological  sound  change  "  may  be  established.  (1)  In 
the  first  place  the  phonetic  change  must  occur  within 
the  boundary  lines  which  history  assigns  to  a  particular 
ethnic  group.  For  instance,  the  change  from  u  to  u 
takes  place  where,  according  to  historical  evidence,  the 

1  Z.  Gesch.  d.  dentsch.  Sprache,  p.  35. 

2  Stndj  oriental!  e  lingnist.,  I,  p.  21. 

8  Rivista  di  Filologia  e  d'  Instmzione  classica,  X  (1881)  =  Sprach- 
wlssenschaft.  Briefe  (1887),  p.  17. 

251 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

Romans  came  into  contact  with  the  Gauls,  and  not  also 
elsewhere.  (2)  In  the  second  place  the  u  has  undergone 
this  change  to  u  not  only  in  words  borrowed  by  the 
Gauls  from  the  Latin,  but  also  in  words  introduced  from 
other  languages,  such  as  the  German.  (3)  Finally,  the 
Celtic  itself  shows  in  the  development  of  its  own  sound 
system  a  change  from  older  u  to  z,  the  former  sound 
being  the  Gaelic  parallel  to  Britannic  i.  A  number  of 
similar  observations  have  since  been  made  of  which 
Wechssler  gives  a  convenient  summary.1  The  possi- 
bility of  "  ethnological  change  "  is  thus  completely  estab- 
lished. Since  Ascoli's  time  it  has  twice  been  resorted 
to  in  order  to  explain  the  differentiation  of  the  Indo- 
European  idioms,  namely,  by  Penka2  and  by  Hirt.3 
But  neither  has,  for  obvious  reasons,  been  able  to  advance 
beyond  generalities.  The  problem  as  it  stands  is  in- 
deed much  less  a  linguistic  than  an  ethnological  one. 
When,  with  Ascoli,  we  regard  the  modification  of  u  to  u 
as  an  "ethnological  change,"  we  base  this  assumption 
(1)  on  a  knowledge  of  the  Gallic  language,  (2)  on  in- 
dependent historical  data  concerning  the  territory 
inhabited  by  the  Gauls,  and  (3)  on  independent  infor- 
mation concerning  the  manner  in  which  Gaul  was 
Romanized.  How  much  do  we  know  of  the  languages 
which  the  Pre-Indo-European  nations  spoke  ?  Nothing, 
or  next  to  nothing.  If,  for  instance,  we  had  a  sufficient 
knowledge  of  Ligurian,  we  might  claim  certain  changes 
to  be  due  to  Ligurian  influence,  because,  like  the  Gallic 
change  from  u  to  i,  they  are  peculiar  to  that  dialect. 

1  Forschungen  z.  roman.  Philol.  Festgabe  f.  Suchier   (1900),  p.  444. 
Cf.  also  Kretschmer,  Einleitung  in  die  Geschichte  d.  Griech.  Sprache 
(1896),  p.  120. 

2  Origines  Ariacae,  p.  149  ff. 

8  Indogerm.  Forsch.,  IV  (1894),  p.  36,  and  Hettner's  Geographische 
Zt.,  I,  653. 

252 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

As  it  is,  the  problem  cannot  be  attacked  in  this  way 
from  the  linguistic  side.  It  is  upon  the  two  ethnologi- 
cal points,  then,  that  the  whole  question  hinges.  Our 
knowledge  of  the  prehistoric  ethnology  of  Europe  has 
been  conveniently  summarized  and  critically  reviewed 
by  Kretschmer  in  the  second  chapter  of  his  Einleitung 
in  die  Geschichte  der  Griechischen  Sprache  (1896). l  It 
is  as  yet  of  so  uncertain  a  nature  that  Kretschmer  "re- 
jects a  limine  all  attempts  to  make  use  of  it  for  the 
explanation  of  similarities  or  differences  of  the  Indo- 
European  idioms."  The  second  point  has  received  very 
adequate  treatment  at  the  hands  of  Hempl2  and  Ratzel,3 
the  former  of  whom,  for  the  first  time,  made  a  careful 
analysis  of  the  economical  and  political  side  of  race  mix- 
ture and  its  bearing  upon  speech  differentiation;  while 
the  latter  discussed  general  problems  of  expansion  and 
colonization,  in  short,  the  mechanism  of  migration.  No 
alien  language  will  survive  if  its  speakers  are  in  a  small 
minority.  Gumblowicz,  in  his  Rassenkampf,4  observed 
that  even  the  speech  of  the  conquerors  dies  out  under 
such  conditions;  Hempl  and  Ratzel  agree  with  him. 
Those  who  hold  that  comparatively  small  bodies  of 
Indo-Europeans  subjugated  an  indigenous  European 
population  cannot,  as  Hempl  rightly  points  out,  main- 
tain at  the  same  time  the  theory  of  "  ethnological  sound 
changes  " ;  for  the  language  of  these  conquerors  must 
have  died  out.  The  only  case  in  which  a  transfer  of 
the  basis  of  articulation  takes  place  is,  according  to 
Hempl,  exemplified  in  the  colonization  of  Gaul  by  the 
Romans.  "  The  conquerors  are  neighbors,  who  reduce 

1  Cf.  also  W.  Z.  Ripley,  The  Races  of  Europe  (1899). 

2  Transact.  Americ.  Philol.  Ass.,  XXIX  (1898),  p.  31. 

8  Ratzel,  Sitz.  Ber.  d.  KgL  Sachs.  Ges.  d.  Wiss.  (1898),  L,  p.  1. 
*  P.  226. 

253 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

the  conquered  country  to  a  province,  which  they  colo- 
nize and  denationalize.  The  conquerors  become  the 
upper  class  and  the  influential  element  of  the  middle 
class.  The  language  of  the  conqueror  is  in  time  adopted 
by  the  conquered,  but  it  is  apt  to  be  learned  largely  by 
sound  substitution.  ..."  Then  he  proceeds:  "... 
if  we  wish  to  prove  that  the  differentiation  of  Indo- 
European  speech  was  like  the  differentiation  of  Roman 
speech,  we  must  be  able  to  show  that  the  conditions 
under  which  the  differentiations  took  place  were  alike 
or  equivalent.  But  even  a  cursory  examination  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  Romance  countries  were  Roman- 
ized will  make  it  clear  that  no  parallel  could  possibly 
be  drawn  between  the  conditions  under  which  the 
Romance  languages  arose  and  those  that  we  can  suppose 
to  have  existed  while  the  Indo-European  languages  took 
shape."  I  believe  that  Hempl  is  right,  but  that  never- 
theless ethnological  support  for  the  thesis  maintained 
by  Hirt  can  be  found.  This  is  the  process  of  "infiltra- 
tion," as  Binger  has  called  it,  examples  of  which  are 
given  by  Ratzel.  The  Romanization  of  Gaul  is  an 
example  of  a  premeditated,  planned  colonization.  It  is 
the  action  of  a  civilized  nation,  with  a  highly  developed 
economic  and  political  organization,  closely  knit  and 
coherent.  But  there  is  a  counterpart  to  such  premedi- 
tated expansion  among  savage  tribes.  Says  Ratzel :  "  It 
is  only  because  we  look  upon  the  past  with  the  eyes  of 
the  present  that  we  ascribe  purpose  and  plan  to  all 
ethnic  movements.  History  shows  us  so  many  care- 
fully planned  and  premeditated  migrations  that  we  are 
inclined  to  assume  them  also  for  prehistoric  times.  And 
yet  it  is  easily  seen  that  the  farther  back  these  migra- 
tions lie  the  less  can  they  have  been  carefully  planned  or 
carried  out.  In  order  to  set  a  goal  for  a  migration,  it  is 

254 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

necessary  to  have  a  wide  geographical  horizon.  This, 
we  have  seen,  is  only  acquired  by  centuries  of  toil  and 
sacrifice.  An  organized  migration  presupposes  organi- 
zation of  the  migrating  masses,  which  could  only  gradu- 
ally be  attained.  Long  before  states  became  strong 
enough  to  found  colonies  by  a  systematic  direction  of 
emigration,  numberless  smaller  and  larger  tribes  must 
have  become  .fused  by  migration  and  developed  into 
larger  wholes,  spreading  over  more  extensive  areas.  .  .  . 
This  unconscious  migration  lacks  goal  and  road.  .  .  . 
Many  disconnected  movements  slowly  push  forward  in 
one  direction  or  another,  small  groups  of  one  tribe  are 
wedged  into  the  fissures  of  another,  and  a  scattered 
expansion  is  thus  produced.  It  is  an  infiltration,  as 
Captain  Binger  has  aptly  called  it  in  speaking  of  the 
Fulbe  of  the  Western  Sudan.  Even  better,  perhaps,  is 
the  term  '  diehndi,'  i.  e.,  '  worms,'  a  name  given  by  the 
Baluba  (Luba)  to  such  immigrants,  namely,  the  Kioko, 
who  as  hunters  and  traders  have  '  wormed  '  themselves 
into  their  territory,  and  after  a  while  succeeded  in  living 
in  their  villages  under  chieftains  of  their  own  and  even 
in  obtaining  political  influence,  as  can  be  seen  in  the 
Kalunda  villages.  The  first  stages  of  such  infiltration 
may  escape  notice,  but  when  reinforcement  or  natural 
growth  strengthens  the  newcomers,  they  expand,  and 
where  before  they  begged  for  land,  they  now  demand  it 
or  take  it  with  force  and  arms.  This  is  the  career  of  the 
Fulbe  in  the  Sudan,  where  they  appeared  as  poor  herds- 
men to  end  as  rulers  of  extended  lands ;  by  occupying 
the  most  important  places,  they  caught  the  inhabitants 
in  a  net,  the  first  meshes  of  which  were  imperceptibly 
woven  by  the  hands  of  the  first  immigrating  individuals. 
No  violent  expeditions  accompany  such  infiltration, 
which  at  one  blow  place  a  conquering  nation  in  the 

255 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

very  heart  of  a  tottering  realm.  Instead  it  proceeds 
with  noteworthy  steadiness  and  does  not  suffer  from 
great  reverses.  Of  the  advance  of  the  Fan,  first  in  a 
westerly,  then  in  a  northerly  direction,  we  have  a  few 
definite  data.  In  1856  they  were  found  sporadically  on 
the  Gaboon ;  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventies  they  ruled 
over  the  territory  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Ogow6 ;  in 
1875  they  had  reached  the  coast;  since  the  close  of  the 
eighties  they  appear  in  southern  Kamerun.  ...  In 
Africa  these  movements  take  place  among  tribes  which 
in  density  of  population  and  degree  of  civilization  are 
similar.  The  same  process  may  be  assumed  to  have 
taken  place  elsewhere  upon  the  earth  during  correspond- 
ing stages  of  civilization.  Especially  in  the  Stone  Age, 
which  perhaps  witnessed  the  earliest  Aryan  invasions, 
the  inhabitants  of  Europe  can  hardly  have  been  less 
mobile  than  the  invaders,  and  the  latter  must  have 
found  many  fissures,  perhaps  large  unoccupied  tracts  of 
land  between  thinly  settled  areas." 

Under  such  conditions  there  arises  a  language  rivalry 
which  does  not  fall  under  any  of  Hempl's  categories,  for 
he  provides  only  for  a  conflict  between  higher  and  lower 
civilizations  and  between  superior  and  inferior  numbers. 
At  a  given  period  of  the  process  sketched  above  there 
will  be  an  equilibrium  in  numbers,  political  power,  and 
degree  of  civilization,  or  preponderance  along  one  of 
these  lines  will  be  equalized  by  deficiencies  along  an- 
other. Here,  then,  are  the  conditions  favorable  for  the 
creation  of  a  secondary  language,  or  perhaps  of  a  num- 
ber of  secondary  dialects,  which  G.  v.  d.  Gabelentz 
and  Loewe  have  aptly  called  "contact  languages."1 

1  Cf.  Georg  v.  d.  Gabelentz  und  A.  B.  Meyer,  in  Abh.  d.  Kgl.  sachs.  Ges. 
d.  Wiss.,  VIII  (1882),  p.  375  ("  Contactsprachen,"  p.  382);  R.  Loewe 
Jahrbucb.  d.  Vereiiis  f.  niederdeut.  Sprachforsch.,  XIV  (for  1888,  pub- 

256 


PHONETIC   CHANGE 

"By  contact  language,"  says  the  latter,  "I  understand 
a  language  which  one  uses  in  intercourse  with  members 
of  a  speech  community  not  his  own."  All  elements  in- 
troduced into  this  contact  language  from  the  foreign 
idiom  cannot  fail,  of  course,  to  be  influenced  by  the 
habits  of  the  native  dialect.  Gradually,  the  political 
and  economic  conditions  continuing  as  before,  this 
contact  language  becomes  conventional,  gains  uniform- 
ity, is  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation,  and 
may  cover  large  areas.  The  most  striking  example  is 
the  large  group  of  African  languages  north  of  the 
equator  and  extending  to  the  great  desert  and  eastward 
to  the  countries  of  the  Nile  (the  languages  of  Lepsius' 
second  zone,  of  which  the  Hausa  has  the  widest  distri- 
bution). These  languages,  as  Lepsius  l  has  shown,  are 
the  result  of  a  fusion  of  the  languages  of  the  first 
(southern)  zone  (the  Ba-ntu  languages)  and  those  of  the 
third  zone  (the  Hamitic  languages).  Lepsius  does  not 
hesitate  to  claim  Hamitic  origin  for  the  Hausa  in  spite 
of  the  large  admixture  of  negro  elements ;  yet  the  phys- 
ical type  of  the  Hausa  is  distinctly  negroid,  much  far- 
ther removed  from  the  Hamitic  type  than  from  the  negro 
neighbors,  among  whom  the  Hausa  are  now  settled. 
They  gradually  pushed  their  way  into  the  southern 
territory,  and  settling  in  the  fertile  country  between  the 
Niger  and  the  Tsad  (Chad)  basin  were  gradually  absorbed 
by  the  surrounding  negro  population.  Their  language 
survived ;  not  in  the  form  in  which  they  brought  it 
from  Lybia,  but  preserved  as  the  dominating  element 
of  a  "contact  language,"  which,  when  they  began  to 
have  intercourse  with  the  indigenous  negro  population, 

lished  1 889),  and  Zt.  f.  Volkerpsych.  u.  Sprachw.,  XX  (1890),  p.  261  ff.   (In 
this  second  paper  he  uses  the  term  "  Beriihrungssprache.") 
1  In  the  Introduction  to  his  Nnbische  Grammatik  (1880). 
17  257 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

arose,  became  conventional,  and  spread  over  the  western 
Sudan. 

In  such  a  way  the  Indo-European  immigrants,  slowly 
filtering  through  Europe,  may  have  been  largely 
absorbed  by  the  earlier  tribes ;  long  before  such  anthro- 
pological and  ethnological  absorption  can  have  taken 
place  contact  languages  must  have  sprung  up  in  which 
and  through  which  essential  features  of  their  idiom  were 
preserved ;  these,  in  turn,  may  have  consolidated  in  the 
same  proportion  in  which  the  diffuse  clans  and  tribes 
consolidated  into  more  coherent  bodies;  and  with  the 
survival  of  the  best  organized,  most  centralized  com- 
munity its  dialect  survived. 

The  manner  in  which,  according  to  observed  facts, 
the  Aryanization  of  Europe  may  have  taken  place  does 
not  militate  against  the  theory  of  "ethnological  speech 
change."  But,  as  far  as  I  can  see,  such  an  assumption 
can  be  made  only  in  a  general  way,  and  for  want  of 
data  must  remain  vague,  indefinite,  and  therefore  some- 
what unsatisfactory. 

28  Looking  back  upon  the  preceding  paragraphs,  no  one 
can  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  difficulty  of  adequately 
accounting  for  a  given  phonetic  change,  and  with  the 
numberless  cases  which  as  yet  defy  explanation.  How 
many  of  the  changes  stored  up  in  our  compendia  do 
really  yield  to  a  causal  explanation  ?  "  En  tout  champ 
d'e*tudes,  les  constatations  pures  et  simples  excMent 
prodigieusement  les  explanations,"  rightly  says  Tarde. 
Language  makes  no  exception.  It  is  from  this  point 
that  a  discussion  of  "phonetic  laws  " 1  must  take  its  start. 

1  Best  for  orientation  and  with  a  very  full  bibliography  (p.  529),  is 
E.  Wechssler,  "  Giebt  es  Lautgesetze  ?  "  in  Forschungen  z.  roman.  Philol. 
Festgabe  fur  H.  Suchier  (1900),  p.  349.  Cf.  of  the  more  recent  literature 
especially  Wallenskold,  Zur  Klarung  der  Lautgesetzfrage  (in  Abhand- 
lungen  Herrn  Professor  .  .  .  Tobler  .  .  .  dargebracht),  1895,  p.  289; 

258 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

In  1876  Leskien  closed  the  preface  to  his  monograph 
on  the  Slavo-Lithuanian  and  Germanic  Declension  with 
the  memorable  words:  "In  my  investigation  I  have 
maintained  this  principle,  that  the  phonetics  of  a  case- 
form  should  never  imply  an  exception  to  sound-laws 
which  hold  good  elsewhere.  In  order  to  avoid  misun- 
derstanding I  will  add:  if  by  an  exception  we  mean 
an  instance  in  which,  for  definite  and  clearly  visible 
reasons,  the  expected  change  did  not  take  place,  .  .  . 
then  I  have  nothing  to  say  against  the  thesis  that 
phonetic  law  admits  of  exception.  The  law  is  not 
thereby  invalidated ;  it  continues  to  operate  where  one 
disturbance  or  another  does  not  suspend  it.  But  if  we 
permit  deviations  which  are  ascribed  to  chance  and  can- 
not be  brought  into  a  system,  we  declare  that  language 
is  not  a  fit  subject  for  scientific  investigation." 

In  this  passage  are  contained  all  the  principal  elements 
which  in  an  almost  endless  variety  and  combination 
appear  and  reappear  in  the  subsequent  controversy 
which  lasted  for  about  two  decades. 

In  1858  Curtius l  wrote  in  the  first  edition  of  his 
Grundziige  der  griechischen  Etymologic :  "  If  the  history 
of  language  really  showed  such  sporadic  aberrations,  such 

Passy,  Etude  sur  les  changements  phonetiques  et  leurs  caracteres  generaux 
(1891),  with  Victor's  review  in  Indogerm.  Forsch.  Anzeiger,  IV,  p.  6. 
Brugmann,  Grundriss,  I  (2d  ed.,  1897),  §  55  ff.,  p.  63 ;  G.  v.  d.  Gabelentz, 
Die  Sprachwissenschaft  (1891),  p.  191 ;  Grober,  Grnndriss  der  roman. 
Philol.,  I  (1888),  p.  231 ;  Paul,  Grundriss  der  german.  Philol.  (1898),  I 
(2d  ed.),  p.  121  ;  Sievers,  Grundziige  d.  Phonetik  (4th  ed.,  1893),  p.  243. 
On  the  different  definitions  of  the  term  "  Law,"  cf.  especially  Eucken,  Die 
Grnndbegriffe  der  Gegenwart  (2d  ed.,  1893),  p.  173;  Tobler,  Uber  die 
Anwendung  des  Begriffs  von  Gesetzen  auf  die  Sprache  (Vierteljahrs- 
schrift  f.  wissensch.  Philosoph.,  Ill,  p.  32) ;  Wnndt,  Uber  den  Begriff  des 
Gesetzes,  mit  Rucksicht  auf  die  Frage  der  Ausnahmslosigkeit  der  Laut- 
gesetze  (Philosoph.  Studien,  III,  p.  196)  [cf.  also  his  Logik,  II,2  part  2, 
p.  129] ;  Volkerpsychologie,  Die  Sprache,  I,  p.  348  ff. 
i  I,  p.  67. 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

pathological,  wholly  irrational  phonetic  malformations, 
we  should  have  to  give  up  all  etymologizing.  For  only 
that  which  is  governed  by  law  and  reducible  to  a  cohe- 
rent system  can  form  the  object  of  scientific  investiga- 
tion ;  whatever  is  due  to  chance  may  at  best  be  guessed 
at,  but  will  never  yield  to  scientific  inference."  So  far 
he  anticipates  Leskien.  But  he  continues:  "Things, 
however,  to  my  mind  are  not  so  bad ;  we  shall  adhere 
to  laws  and  rules  though  there  be  a  few  exceptions  and 
deviations.  ..."  Here  they  differ.  To  Leskien  there 
cannot  be  any  unexplained  exceptions  ("  zuf  allige  unter 
einander  in  keinen  Zusammenhang  zu  bringende  Ab- 
weichungen").  Here,  then,  is  the  methodological  ad- 
vance of  the  so-called  neo-grammarian  school :  Nothing 
must  be  left  to  chance.  If  from  a  majority  of  cases  a 
"  law "  has  been  deduced,  the  minority,  the  exceptions 
to  this  "law,"  must  be  explained,  a  definite  visible  cause 
("  eine  bestimmte,  erkennbare  Ursache ")  must  be  as- 
signed for  them.  In  many  cases  associative  interference 
in  its  various  forms,  which  leads  to  analogy  forma- 
tions, is  such  a  disturbing  factor.  Any  other  sufficient 
cause  would  satisfy  Leskien's  demand  equally  well. 
But  as  associative  interference  plays  so  important  a 
part  in  the  development  of  language,  most  "  exceptions  " 
found  their  explanation  here.  The  dissenting  minority 
is  accounted  for  as  the  result  of  "  analogy  formation. " 

But  how  about  the  "phonetic  law  "  itself?  Is  the  de- 
mand for  a  causal  explanation  extended  to  it  ?  By  no 
means.  The  "  phonetic  law  "  (as  this  term  is  used  by 
Leskien  and  his  followers  and  in  current  grammatical 
terminology)  rests  its  claim  to  recognition  not  upon  a 
causal  explanation  but  upon  its  relative  universality. 
That  is  to  say :  Because  a  certain  sound  change  can  be 
observed  in  a  large  mass  of  cases  it  is  elevated  to  the 

260 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

rank  of  a  "phonetic  law."  The  question  why  such  a 
change  took  place  is  not  asked.  It  is  only  in  the  case 
of  "  exceptions  "  that  we  meet  the  demand  for  a  causal 
explanation. 

It  is  true  that  some  of  our  "phonetic  laws  "  imply  that 
the  conditions  under  which  the  change  takes  place  are 
its  cause.  E.  g.,  the  law  which  states  that  Primitive 
Greek  T  before  unsyllabic  i  changes  to  er  (*  TrXouruo?  be- 
comes TrXouo-to?)  carries  with  it  the  implication  that  the 
i  assibilated  the  T. 

Some  others  limit  at  least  the  range  within  which  cer- 
tain changes  occur.  E.  g.,  primitive  initial  er  before 
sonants  changes  to  h  ('),  as  eVra  (Latin  septern),  6  (San- 
skrit s(£).  But  the  majority  of  our  so-called  "  phonetic 
laws,"  including  some  of  the  most  important  ones,  con- 
sists of  nothing  but  statements  averring  that  such  and 
such  a  sound  changed  into  another  sound.  So  we  have 
the  Ionic  "sound-law"  that  Primitive  Greek  a  (/uarT/p) 
changes  to  TJ  ^ijrrjp)  or  the  English  "sound-law"  that 
Old  English  long  a  (name)  changes  in  Middle  English 
to  e  (name).  Why  such  a  change  takes  place  the 
"law  "  does  not  inform  us.  The  fact  that  the  change  is 
relatively  universal  is  sufficient  to  establish  the  "law." 
The  term  "law,"  therefore,  is  used  in  grammar  with  a 
peculiar  and  special  signification.  It  stands  for  a 
formula  by  which  a  large  mass  of  phonetic  correspond- 
ences are  summed  up.  Instead  of  saying 

1,  Primitive  Greek  ftaTrjp  corresponds  to  Ionic 

2,  "  "      \Jard-          "  "      " 

3,  "  "         TifJid  "  "        " 

etc.        "  "     etc.  "  "     "      etc. 

these  single  correpondences  are  summarized  in  the  formula: 

Primitive  Greek  a  corresponds  to  Ionic  77. 
261 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

This    "law"  then  is  the  formulaic   statement  of  an 
observed  regularity  in  phonetic  development.     It  is  not 
a  formulaic  statement  of  the  observed  sequence 1  of  two 
phenomena  which  stand  to  each  other  in  the  relation  of 
cause  and  effect.     The  term  "law"  has  undergone  so 
many  changes  of  meaning  since  it  was  first  introduced 
from   jurisprudence   into  the   various    sciences  that  it 
would  be  futile  to  try  now  to  oppose  its  use  where  it 
has   once  been  firmly  established.      This   is   mainly  a 
question  of  terminology  and  hardly  debatable,  although 
it  is  clear  that  the  use  of  the  same  term  in  a  number  of 
more   or  less   different  senses  tends  to  confusion.     So 
much  the  more  is  it  necessary  to  define  for  each  case  the 
exact  significance  which   the   term  is  to   have.     This 
ought  to  have   been  the  first  task  in  the  discussion  of 
the  problem  during  the  seventies  and  eighties.     Unfor- 
tunately for  a  speedy  settlement  the  issue  was  shifted 
from  an  investigation  of  the  nature  of  the  statements 
which  go  under  the  name  of  "  phonetic  law  "  to  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  thesis  "  phonetic  laws  permit  of  no  excep- 
tions (except  those  caused  by  analogy)."    The  unhappy 
framing  of  this  thesis  is  responsible  for  the  length  and  un- 
satisfactory nature  of  much  of  the  controversy,  for  when- 
ever the  terms  of  a  proposition  are  not  clearly  defined  at 
the  very  outset  and  the  disputants  do  not  agree  upon 
one  definition,  misunderstandings  are  sure  to  follow. 
29     Starting  with  the  proper  demand  that  nothing  in  lan- 
guage must  be  assigned  to  chance,  the  neo-grammarians 
insisted,  as  we  have  seen,  upon  a  causal  explanation  of 
all  exceptions.      As   Brugmann2  states  it:    "An  die 

1  Jespersen,  in  Techmer's  Internal;.  Zt.,  Ill  (1887),  p.  215 ;  Wallen- 
skold  in  Abhandl.  Herrn  Professor  .  .  .  Tobler  .  .  .  dargebracht  (1895), 
p.  291. 

2  Zum  heutigen  Stande  d.  Sprachw.  (1885),  p.  49. 

262 


PHONETIC  CHANGE 

Praxis  stellte  diese  Auffassung  des  Lautwandels  die 
Forderung,  uberall  nach  einer  Erklarung  der  Unre- 
gelmassigkeiten  zu  suchen."  Why  did  they  not  exact 
the  same  for  the  "laws"  themselves?  Because  they 
started  with  the  axiom  (for  no  proof  of  it  was  attempted) 
that  the  "  laws  "  are  physical,  and  a  contrast  was  soon 
established  between  them  and  the  psychological  (anal- 
ogy) exceptions.  This  view  of  the  nature  of  "  phonetic 
laws  "  appears  in  the  following  passages,  which  may  be 
taken  as  typical. 

Osthoff  and  Brugmann  (1878),  in  the  preface  of  their 
Morphologische  Untersuchungen,  lay  down  these  "two 
most  important  methodological  principles  of  the  neo- 
grammarian  school :  First,  all  sound  change  so  far  as  it 
is  mechanical  proceeds  along  laws  without  exception. 
.  .  .  Second,  since  the  association  of  forms,  i.  e.,  the 
analogical  creation  of  new  forms,  plays  a  very  important 
part  in  the  life  of  modern  languages  ...  it  must 
surprise  no  one  if  analogy  formations  played  the  same 
or  even  a  greater  part  in  the  earlier  and  earliest 
times.  ..." 

It  is  plain  that  "  analogy  formations  "  are  here  con- 
trasted with  " phonetic  laws."  The  latter  are  "  mechan- 
ical." Elsewhere  Osthoff1  sees  in  them  the  "physio- 
logical"  element  in  the  transformation  of  speech,  while 
analogy  formations  represent  the  "psychological"  ele- 
ment. The  same  is  also  very  clearly  stated  by  Ziemer: 2 
"All  sound  changes  follow  invariable  laws.  .  .  . 
Hence  results  a  sharp  distinction  between  physiological 

1  Ueber  das  physiologische  und  psychologische  Element  in  der  sprach- 
lichen  Formenbildung   (Sammlung  gemeinverstandlicher  wissenschaft- 
licher  Vortrage,  hrsg.  v.  Virchow  u.  Holtzendorff,  Serie  XIV,  No.  327, 
p.  505). 

2  Junggrammatische  Streifziige  (1882),  p.  7. 

263 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

and  psychological  processes.     All  seeming   exceptions 
must  be  explained  as  due  to  psychological  causes."1 

It  may  well  be  that  we  have  here  some  lingering 
traces  of  Schleicher's  conception  of  language  as  an  inde- 
pendent organism,  which  led  him  to  class  linguistic 
science  with  the  natural  sciences.  But  it  seems  very 
probable  that,  to  a  much  greater  degree ,  this  "  mechani- 
cal" or  "physiological"  conception  of  "phonetic  laws" 
was  unconsciously  based  upon  the  regularity  with  which 
phonetic  changes  take  place.  As  methods  improved ,  this 
regularity  steadily  increased.  What  had  seemed  irra- 

1  This  physiological  theory  of  the  origin  of  all  those  sound  changes 
which  are  classed  as  "  phonetic  laws "  is  the  reason  why,  according  to 
current  theory,  all  analogy  formations  are  restorations,  never  preserva- 
tions of  an  older  sound.  Cf.  e.  g.,  Brugmann,  Zum  heutigen  Staude  der 
Sprachwisseuschaft  (1885),  p.  52:  "  Ebenso  ist  auch  die  Annahme  zu- 
riickzuweisen,  dass  ein  Lautgesetz  zuweilen  darum  nicht  consequent 
wirke,  weil  der  Laut  durch  die  Eiicksicht  auf  verwandte  Formen 
festgehalten  werde.  Ein  Festhalten  des  a  von  iatt\<fa.  (neben  e5«<£a)  oder 
•des  t  von  K«(a.r<u  (neben  Kefytsfla)  ware  nur  denkbar  uuter  der  Voraus- 
setzung,  dass  der  Sprechende  etwas  von  der  drohenden  Veranderung  wusste 
und  sich  im  Voraus  zu  hiiten  suchte.  Davon  kann  in  keinem  Falle  die 
Rede  sein.  Uberall  wurde  die  Form  erst  von  der  Aenderungsneigung 
ergriffen,  wenn  auch  vielleicht  nur  in  geringem  Grade,  dann  erst  konnte 
die  Wirkung  des  lautlichen  Factors  durch  den  andern,  die  Analogic, 
anfgehoben  werden."  While  analogical  restorations  are  as  numerous  as 
analogical  new  formations,  there  is  no  warrant  for  the  assumption  that 
analogical  preservation  is  impossible  per  se,  except  upon  the  theory  that 
all  sound  change  is  physical,  and  originates  simultaneously  in  all  mem- 
bers of  a  speech-group.  A  form  like  eo-TTjero  was  closely  associated  with 
the  other  sigmatic  forms  like  tSftl-a  long  before  the  conversion  of  inter- 
vocalic a  to  h  and  its  final  loss  took  place.  It  is,  of  course,  not  possible, 
but  also  not  necessary,  to  assume  that  the  speakers  tried  to  guard  against 
its  loss;  what  prevented  the  change  is  the  close  association  of  sigmatic 
aorists  in  one  functional  group,  of  which  the  na'ive  speaker  is  not  all 
aware.  Since  the  loss  of  intervocalic  tr  is,  according  to  the  theory  of  the 
text,  mainly  a  psychological  phenomenon  —  as  far  as  its  imitative  spread 
through  the  community  goes,  purely  a  psychological  one  —  we  have  here 
a  conflict  between  two  psychical  tendencies. 

264 


PHONETIC   CHANGE 

tional  exceptions  to  Grimm's  law  were  removed  by 
Verner's  law.1  Seemingly  capricious  interchanges  of 
Sanskrit  gutturals  and  palatals  in  the  same  word  (as 
jdyati,  "he  conquers,"  gdya,  "booty")  received  full 
explanation  by  the  Palatal  Law.2  A  comparison  of  this 
phonetic  regularity  with  the  regularities  of  which  the 
natural  sciences  could  boast  was  unavoidable.  And 
because  in  these  the  processes  exhibiting  such  regularity 
were  physical,  therefore  the  processes  which  became 
manifest  in  "  phonetic  laws  "  were  also  regarded  as  phys- 
ical (mechanical,  physiological).  On  the  other  hand, 
in  the  psychological  processes  of  the  individual  such 
uniformity  was  not  observed,  they  were  irregular,  hence 
they  were  thought  to  be  the  source  of  the  disturbing 
elements  which  interfere  now  and  then  with  the  physical 
"laws."  A  careful  perusal  of  many  passages  similar  to 
those  just  quoted  will  clearly  show  that  in  the  minds  of 
many  of  those  who  took  part  in  the  early  stages  of  the 
controversy  about  phonetic  "  laws  "  the  idea  of  regular- 
ity, uniformity,  and  "  law  "  is  strongly  linked  with  the 
physical  nature  of  the  phenomena;  while  "psycholog- 
ical "  is  felt  as  equivalent  to  "irregular,"  these  processes 
being  considered  so  mobile  that  they  were  practically 
beyond  the  pale  of  "law."  Even  in  Paul's  discussion 
of  sound  changes  this  division  is  still  visible.  "  Sound 
change  in  the  narrower  sense  of  the  term"  is,  according 
to  him,  produced  by  a  "displacement  of  the  motory 
sensations ;  "  this  is  uniform,  like  the  older  physiological 
or  mechanical  change.  "  But  there  are  other  phonetic 
changes  .  .  .  which  must  be  separated  from  this  sound 
change  in  the  narrower  sense ;  .  .  .  cases  in  which  ele- 
ments of  a  word  exchange  their  places  (metathesis)  .  .  . 

1  Kuhn's  Zt.,  XXIII,  p.  97. 

2  Cf.  Bechtel,  Hauptprobleme  (1892),  p.  62  and  332. 

265 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

also  assimilations  .  .  .  (and)  dissimilations."  Why 
are  they  contrasted  with  the  former  phonetic  changes  ? 
Because  they  are  less  regular.  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
assert  that  the  term  "law"  was  chosen  for  certain  pho- 
netic observations  because  of  the  regularity  and  unifor- 
mity of  their  occurrence.  Regularity  and  uniformity  are 
not  deductions  which  were  based  upon  the  nature  of 
what  was  called  a  "phonetic  law,"  but  the  term  "pho- 
netic law"  owes  its  existence  to  the  regularity  and 
uniformity  of  the  phenomena  which  it  summarizes. 

The  creation  of  this  term  has  had  two  very  different 
results.  A  very  wholesome  one  in  enforcing  a  strict 
method  of  phonological  investigations  in  so  far  as  it  in- 
sisted that  all  exceptions  to  a  rule  based  upon  the 
majority  of  instances  must  be  explained.  But  in 
another  respect  its  effect  has  been  much  less  beneficial. 
This  cannot  be  better  characterized  than  by  a  passage 
from  Eucken's  Die  Grundbegriffe  der  Gegenwart: 
"  There  is  danger  that  through  too  lax  and  liberal  a  use 
of  the  term  '  law  '  the  problem  may  be  confounded  with 
its  solution,  the  beginning  of  scientific  inquiry  with  its 
end.  By  empirically  discovering  regularities  in  the 
chaos  of  events  ...  we  open  definite  roads  for  subse- 
quent investigation.  .  .  .  (For)  it  is  evident  that  as 
such  regularities  may  be  the  results  of  manifold  antece- 
dent factors,  they  must  form  the  starting  point  for  fur- 
ther investigation.  If,  according  to  common  usage, 
they  adorn  themselves  with  the  name  of  '  law, '  they  are 
likely  to  appear  more  primitive,  more  authoritative, 
more  complete,  than  they  really  are.  ...  A  liberal  use 
of  the  term  '  law '  has  made  very  complicated  problems 
.  .  .  appear  as  if  they  were  simple  and  stood  in  no  need 
of  further  analysis ;  and  thus  the  incentive  to  further  in- 
vestigation has  been  weakened.  What  was  not  much 

266 


PHONETIC   CHANGE 

more  than  a  formulation  of  the  problem  thus  appeared  at 
times  as  its  solution."  This  is  exactly  what  has  hap- 
pened in  grammar.  A  series  of  relatively  uniform  sound 
substitution  was  summarized  in  a  brief  formula.  Be- 
cause of  this  relative  uniformity  the  formula  was  called 
a  "law."  And  finally,  completing  the  vicious  circle, 
because  it  was  a  "law"  it  must  needs  be  universal. 
From  these  considerations  it  is  seen  that  the  crucial 
point  of  the  whole  question  is  an  exact  determination 
of  the  character  of  this  relative  uniformity  in  sound 
change,  which  lies  at  the  bottom  of  the  whole  theory  of 
"phonetic  laws."  For  it  is  clear  that  our  conception  of 
the  nature  of  a  formula  which  summarizes  certain  uni- 
form facts  must  be  derived  from  the  nature  of  these 
uniform  facts,  and  not  vice  versa.  Here  is,  to  my  mind, 
the  fundamental  methodological  error  in  most  of  the 
discussions  of  "phonetic  law; "  they  begin  at  the  wrong 
end ;  they  start  with  a  definition  of  phonetic  law  instead 
of  ending  with  it;  their  method  is  deductive  instead  of 
inductive. 

30  An  inquiry  into  the  uniformity  of  sound  changes  must 
deal  with  two  problems:  first,  what  is  the  degree  of 
uniformity  which  sound  changes  exhibit;  second,  what 
is  the  reason  for  such  uniformity. 

The  answer  to  the  first  question  depends  to  a  large 
extent  on  the  material  examined.  If  this  consists  in  a 
selection  of  the  written  records  of  a  literary  language 
the  uniformity  will  be  much  greater  than  when  we 
examine  the  actual  everyday  speech  of  a  living  dialect. 
For  two  reasons.  In  the  first  place  the  literary  lan- 
guage owes  its  origin  to  a  process  of  elimination.  It  is 
an  artificial  product,  the  very  end  of  which  is  uniformity 
in  pronunciation,  vocabulary,  style.  This  is  true  of 
any  literary  language,  even  when  it  is  spoken.  Where, 

267 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

however,  the  literary  language  is  known  only  through 
written  records,  it  presents  an  appearance  of  still  greater 
uniformity.  For  its  words  become  fixed  symbols,  cast 
in  a  conventional  orthography  around  which  a  variety 
of  pronunciation  clusters.  Although  it  is  true  that  the 
authors  of  the  Morphologische  Untersuchungen  (1878) 
insisted  in  the  strongest  terms  that  comparative  philol- 
ogy can  get  its  methodological  principles  most  safely 
from  a  study  of  modern  living  languages,  and  that  a 
study  of  the  natural  speech  of  everyday  life  gives  us 
the  clew  to  unravel  prehistoric  changes,  yet  an  exami- 
nation of  the  works  of  those  who  took  part  in  the  contro- 
versy will  show  that  their  arguments  were  largely  based 
upon  observations  made  in  the  literary  languages  of  past 
periods.  But  distance,  spelling,  and  literary  usage  are 
three  coats  of  snow  which  hide  many  a  sharp  edge.  It 
is  very  noticeable  that  Schuchardt,1  who  of  all  the 
participants  in  this  controversy  had  probably  the  widest 
and  most  intimate  knowledge  of  modern  languages,  was 
much  less  impressed  with  the  universality  of  "  phonetic 
laws."  Whitney2  (1894),  in  one  of  the  last  papers  with 
which  he  enriched  science,  following  up  a  suggestion  of 
Tarbell3  (1887),  investigated  the  distribution  of  the 
peculiar  short  6  in  New  England  (in  "stSne,"  etc.)  to- 
gether with  a  number  of  similar  cases,  like  the  short  u 
in  rut  (root),  ruf  (roof),  and  came  to  the  conclusion 
"that  in  this  living  language,  at  any  rate  (for  other 
languages  let  others  speak),  vowel-mutations  are  not  at 
present  effecting  themselves  with  an  all-involving  sweep, 
but  partially  and  by  gradual  extension ;  that  there  may 
be  and  is  a  hard  and  fast  line  drawn  in  the  usage  of  an 

1  tiber  die  Lautgesetze  (1885). 

2  Indog.  Forsch.,  IV  (1894),  p.  32. 

8  Tarbell,  Transact.  Amer.  Phil.  Ass.,  XVII  (1886),  p.  13. 
268 


PHONETIC   CHANGE 

individual,  and  hence  of  a  body  of  individuals  or  a 
community,  between  words  that  have  yielded  to  a  cer- 
tain phonetic  tendency  and  others  that  have  not,  fixity 
thus  failing  to  imply  consistency ;  that  in  a  class  of  pho- 
netically similar  words,  one  or  a  few  may  change  without 
carrying  the  rest  with  them;  in  short,  that  phonetic 
change  is  not  invariable  here,  but  honeycombed  with 
inconsistency  and  anomalies,  while  yet  doubtless  the 
leading  tendencies  are  working  themselves  out  to  ulti- 
mate uniformity."  All  observations  on  modern  dialects 
as  they  are  actually  spoken  tend  to  confirm  this,  though 
a  comprehensive  treatment  of  this  most  important  phase 
of  the  question  is  yet  wanting.  It  is  for  this  reason  that 
I  have  spoken  of  a  relative  uniformity  of  phonetic 
changes.  This  relative  uniformity  may  at  times  amount 
to  an  absolute  uniformity,  but  it  does  not  necessarily  do 
so,  and  often  such  absolute  uniformity  is  only  apparent 
because  dissenting  data  are  wanting  on  account  of  de- 
ficient material  at  hand. 

31  The  facts  of  modern  dialects  do  not  therefore  warrant 
a  claim  that  all  sound  changes  are  always  uniform. 
The  formulae  which  summarize  these  changes  must  often 
be  based  upon  relatively  uniform  material.  Still  there 
is  great  regularity  in  many  phonetic  mutations.  What 
is  its  origin?  "Simultaneous  change  in  the  articula- 
tion of  a  large  number  of  individuals  tending  in  the 
same  direction,"  is  the  usual  reply.  So,  for  instance, 
Brugmann :  "  The  movements  by  which  sounds  are  made 
are  not  absolutely  constant  either  within  the  same  indi- 
vidual or  within  different  individuals  of  the  same  com- 
munity. These  oscillations,  however,  are  so  slight  that 
they  are  not  felt  as  differences  by  either  speaker  or  lis- 
tener [see  on  this  theory  p.  246].  Now  if  the  single 
individual  stands  isolated  and  his  tendency  toward  modi- 

269 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

fication  is  opposed  to  that  of  his  fellows,  he  cannot  to 
any  great  degree  yield  to  it  because  he  unconsciously 
corrects  his  shifted  motory  sensation  according  to  the 
sound  which  he  hears  from  his  fellows;  every  one  is 
dominated  by  the  society  within  which  he  lives.  It  is, 
therefore,  necessary  that  the  same  tendency  toward 
modification  should  be  present  at  the  same  time  in  a 
large  number  of  individuals  to  insure  its  victory."  In 
other  words,  according  to  this  prevailing  theory,  many 
individuals,  quite  independent  of  one  another,  simul- 
taneously hit  upon  the  same  change.  The  uniformity  of 
the  change  is  due  to  the  fact  that  each  individual  of 
the  community  by  himself  at  a  given  period  makes  a 
certain  change.  Such  a  theory  leads  inevitably  to  a 
mechanical,  physiological  explanation  of  all  speech 
change.  For,  of  course,  we  cannot  stop  at  the  mere 
assumption  of  a  "  tendency  "  common  to  many  members. 
Whence  this  uniform  tendency  ?  The  answer  must  be 
because  either  the  organs  of  speech  or  the  brain  have 
undergone  certain  uniform  changes.  Again  we  ask: 
And  why  should  they  be  uniform  ?  And  the  answer  is 
because  they  are  due  to  climatic  conditions,  or  to  race 
mixture,  which  affected  many  individuals  alike.  Upon 
these  questions  I  shall  not  enter  here  again.  To  my 
mind,  the  whole  theory  rests  upon  three  fundamental 
errors.  (1)  It  tries  to  explain  linguistic  facts  as  the 
product  of  the  individual,  instead  of  regarding  them  as 
social  products.  (2)  It  sees  in  social  intercommunication 
a  conservative  factor  only,  while  in  reality  social  contact 
and  the  imitations  which  it  entails  are  at  the  bottom  of 
all  changes  as  well.  (3)  It  fails  to  distinguish  between 
the  origin  of  a  change  and  its  spread. 

For  the  proper  understanding  of  the  manner  in  which 
all  changes  in  language  (phonetic  ones  included)  take 

270 


PHONETIC   CHANGE 

place,  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  maintain  the 
sharp  distinction  between  original  and  imitative  changes 
which  was  made  above.  Every  phonetic  change  which 
survived  started  as  an  original  change  and  spread  as  an 
imitative  change.  Brugmann's  theory,  on  the  other 
hand,  would  make  it  both  start  and  spread  as  an  original 
change.  The  causes  for  its  spread  may  lie  in  the  nature 
of  the  change,  but  much  oftener  they  lie  outside  of  it.  A 
linguistic  change  does  not  gain  currency  because  many 
individuals  at  the  same  time  independently  produce  it, 
but  it  spreads  because  many  individuals  are  willing  to 
accept  and  to  imitate  it.  Viewed  in  this  light,  phonetic 
changes  cease  to  occupy  an  isolated  position,  as  if  they 
were  toto  caelo  different  from  other  linguistic  changes 
(for  a  similar  theory  regarding  lexicographical  or  syn- 
tactical changes  has  never  been  urged).  It  is  only  in 
this  way  that  all  linguistic  changes  (now  forming  a 
homogeneous  whole)  are  seen  to  rest  upon  the  same  basis 
as  other  social  changes,  such  as  modifications  in  insti- 
tutions, beliefs,  and  customs. 

The  disinclination  to  regard  them  in  this  light  ema- 
nates from  two  sources.  In  the  first  place  imitation  is 
misunderstood  as  implying  conscious,  willed  imitation 
(copying).  After  what  has  been  said  above,  this  objec- 
tion falls  to  the  ground.  Imitation  in  the  sense  in  which 
it  is  used  here  means  such  repetition  by  members  of 
a  community  as  is  neither  willed  nor  observed  by 
them,  but  is  the  bond  by  which  a  community  is  held 
together  in  its  language,  institutions,  beliefs,  and  cus- 
toms. This  imitation  acts  both  as  a  conservative  and 
as  a  progressive  factor;  as  the  former,  when  it  is  the 
repetition  of  old  things,  as  the  latter,  when  it  is  the 
repetition  of  new  things.  The  "centrifugal "  and  "cen- 
tripetal tendencies  "  in  social  life  are  manifestations  of 

271 


LECTURES  ON   THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

the  same  fundamental  principle,  namely,  imitation,  upon 
which  all  society  rests.  The  other  source  is  the  belief 
that  there  can  be  but  one  uniformity,  namely,  that 
physical  uniformity  which  appears  in  the  objects  with 
which  the  natural  sciences  deal.  From  this  arises  the 
conviction  that  all  uniformity  implies  physical  causes. 
Against  this  one-sided  view  the  possibility  of  extra- 
physical  uniformity  cannot  be  too  strongly  insisted 
upon.  A  second  category  of  uniform  phenomena  must 
be  established  which  is  psychical  in  its  character  and 
which  rests  upon  the  basis  of  social  suggestion.  The 
uniform  phenomena  of  language,  belief,  and  custom 
belong  here.  Grammar,  like  the  history  of  beliefs  and 
customs,  is,  as  Tarde  aptly  put  it,  "  la  collection  .  .  . 
des  choses  les  plus  re*ussies,  c'est-a-dire  des  initiatives 
les  plus  imite'es."1 

32  We  have  seen  above  that  the  term  "  phonetic  law  "  as 
used  in  grammar  usually  refers  to  the  summary  state- 
ment of  more  or  less  uniform  sound  correspondences,  be 
it  between  a  sound  of  an  earlier  period  and  that  of  a  later 
period,  be  it  between  contemporary  sounds  of  distinct 
dialectal  varieties.  As  a  general  rule  it  does  not  refer 
to  an  observed  sequence  of  a  number  of  phenomena 
which  stand  to  each  other  in  the  relation  of  cause  and 
effect.  What  we  then  call  "phonetic  laws  "  must  form 
the  material,  a  study  of  which  may  lead  to  the  establish- 
ment of  causal  laws.  These  latter,  however,  will  no 
longer  be  strictly  phonetic  in  character,  but  will  appear 
in  the  form  of  general  psychological  or  physical  laws. 
There  are  no  particular  causal  laws  for  phonetics  any 
more  than  there  are  particular  causal  laws  for  the  other 
departments  of  social  science ;  there  are  only  the  general 
laws  of  psychological  and  of  physical  development  under 

1  Leslois  de  1'Imitation,2  p.  187. 
272 


PHONETIC   CHANGE 

which  the  particular  phenomena  in  the  evolution  of 
language,  belief,  and  custom  must  be  subsumed.  To 
speak  of  "phonetic  laws  "  in  this  second  sense  is  as  inap- 
propriate as  if  one  were  to  speak  of  "zoological"  or 
"  botanical "  laws.  In  all  these  departments  there  are 
many  phenomena  which  occur  with  the  same  or  even 
greater  uniformity  than  the  sound  changes  in  language. 
These,  however,  are  not  themselves  laws,  but  they  find 
their  ultimate  explanation  in  general  physical  laws.  In 
fact  the  problem  is  to  express  the  particular  zoological 
or  botanical  phenomenon  in  terms  of  a  general  physical 
or  chemical  law.  It  is  this  which  we  call  explaining  a 
phenomenon.  Just  so  in  language,  the  problem  is 
stated  when  a  series  of  uniform  correspondences  is 
established.  (A  mass  of  these,  the  result  of  great  inge- 
nuity and  effort  —  for  they  are  often  hidden,  —  are  treas- 
ured up  in  our  compendia  under  the  name  of  "  phonetic 
laws.")  The  problem  will  be  solved  by  showing  how 
each  of  these  particular  phenomena  comes  under  a 
general  psychological  or  physical  law,  i.  e.,  in  cor- 
relating individual  linguistic  facts  with  general  psy- 
chological observations.  The  same  applies  to  other 
"psychological  sciences,"  such  as  sociology,  mythology, 
jurisprudence,  etc.  These  also  frame  formulae  in  which 
certain  uniformities  are  stated,  but  it  is  only  when  they 
succeed  in  reducing  the  complex  individual  phenomenon 
to  the  simple  terms  of  a  psychological  law  that  they  have 
solved  their  problems.  That  a  /3  appears  between  /*  and 
p  in  Greek  is  a  linguistic  formula;  that  increase  of 
speed  impairs  the  nicety  of  co-ordination  of  movements 
is  the  general  psychological  law,  which  applies  to  all 
movements,  and  to  which  this  formula  must  be  referred. 
Such  correlation,  as  stated  above,  is  the  real,  dynamic 
problem,  and,  therefore,  the  task  of  linguistic  science, 
is  273 


LECTURE  V 
CHANGES  IN  LANGUAGE 

III 

Semantic  Change 

"  EVERY  linguistic  utterance,"  says  Apollonios  Dysko- 
los,1  the  keenest  of  Greek  grammarians,  in  his  mono- 
graph Trepl  eTrippijfjidTcov,  "  presents  two  aspects  :  first,  in 
respect  to  its  significance,  second,  in  respect  to  its 
phonetic  form."  (Hday  Xefei  Traperrovrai  Bvo  \6yoi,  o  re 
Trepl  rr}?  evvoias  fcal  Trepl  rov  tr^fiaTO?  TT}?  (fxovrjs.)  A 
consistent  application  and  elaboration  of  this  division 
lies  at  the  bottom  of  Hies'  valuable  attempt  to  reform 
the  current  arrangement  of  grammar.2  The  raw  mate- 
rial out  of  which  languages  are  fashioned  consists  in 
sounds  (a  limited  set  of  which  is  characteristic  for  any 
given  language),  the  stress,  the  pitch  and  the  tempo 
with  which  they  may  be  uttered,  the  pauses  by  which 
sounds  may  be  separated,  and  the  order  in  which  sounds 
and  sound-complexes  may  be  arranged.  This  list  com- 


v  in  Anecd.  Grace,  ed.  Bekker,  II,  p.  529,  1  =  Butt- 
mann,  Des  Apoll.  Dysc.  vier  Biicher  (1877),  p.  282. 

2  The  chief  characteristic  of  Ries'  arrangement  (in  Was  ist  Syntax  ? 
[1894]  )  is  his  distinction  of  three  objects  of  study  :  (1)  Sounds,  (2)  Single 
words,  and  (3)  Combinations  of  words  or  word-groups.  Each  one  of  these 
presents  itself  under  a  two-fold  aspect,  namely,  (1)  that  of  form  (mor- 
phological, schematic  aspect),  and  (2)  that  of  meaning  (semantic  aspect), 

274 


SEMANTIC   CHANGE 

prises  all  the  means  of  linguistic  expression.  All  mean- 
ings must  find  expression  either  in  sounds,  intonation, 

excepting  sounds,  which,  of  course,  are  meaningless.  The  whole  subject 
of  grammatical  and  lexicographical  study  may  then  be  tabulated  as 
follows : 

OBJECTS  OF   STUDY 


A.     SOUNDS 

B.    SINGLE  WORDS 
A 

C.    WORD  GROUPS 
1 

1 

1.  Words  as 
a  whole. 

2.  Formative 
elements, 
except 
those  which 
express  re- 
lations    o  f 
words   to 
each  other. 

1.  The    rela- 
tion of  one 
word  to  an- 
other. 

2.  The  rela- 
tion  of  a 
group  of 
words  to 
anot  her 
group. 

FORM 

[Morpholog- 
ical aspect.] 

1 

2 

4 

6 

8 

II 

MEANING 

[Seniantic 
aspect.] 

(There  is  no 
semantic 
aspect  of 
sounds.) 

3 

5 

7 

9 

Of  the  nine  departments  into  which  the  field  of  linguistic  study  is  thus 
divided,  no.  1  corresponds  to  our  present  Phonetics,  and  Lexicography 
(taken  in  a  wider  sense  than  usual)  might  cover  nos.  2  and  3  ;  for  sec- 
tions 4  to  9  an  adequate  terminology  is  wanting,  as  our  current  terms 
(e.  g.,  syntax,  morphology)  do  not  fit.  The  greatest  difficulty  in  the  way 
of  a  practical  application  of  this  arrangement  is  the  polysynthetic  char- 
acter (p.  289)  of  the  Indo-European  formative  elements.  The  same 
formative  element  belongs  frequently  to  B  2  and  C  1.  The  difference 
between  B  2  and  C  1  has  been  emphasized  by  Powell,  "  Evolution  of 
Language "  (First  Annual  Report  Bureau  of  Ethnol.  Smiths.  Inst., 
1881,  p.  7):  "It  should  be  noted  that  paradigmatic  inflections  are  used 
for  two  distinct  purposes,  qualification  and  relation.  A  word  is  qualified 
by  inflection  when  the  idea  expressed  by  the  inflection  pertains  to  the 
idea  expressed  by  the  word  inflected  ;  thus  a  noun  is  qualified  by  inflec- 
tion when  its  number  and  gender  are  expressed.  A  word  is  related  by  in- 
flection when  the  office  of  the  word  in  the  sentence  is  pointed  out  thereby ; 
thus  nouns  are  related  by  case  inflections ;  verbs  are  related  by  inflec- 

275 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

emphasis,  tempo,  or  position.  Whenever  these  expres- 
sive elements  are  combined  in  a  definite  and  fixed 
relation  and  sequence  for  the  purpose  of  conveying  a 
meaning,  a  language-form  Qiopfyri,  Apollonios'  a^ij/jia) 
is  produced.  The  study  of  the  various  forms  which  a 
language  actually  employs  and  in  which  all  thoughts  of 
a  linguistic  community  must  be  cast  is  the  province  of 
morphology,1  a  term  which  is  here  taken  in  a  much 
wider  sense  than  usual,  when  it  is  confined  to  the  study 
of  the  parts  into  which  words  may  be  analyzed  (such  as 
stem,  root,  prefix,  suffix,  endings).  As  here  understood 
morphology  applies  to  the  study  of  linguistic  form  in 
general,  comprising  the  forms  of  words  taken  as  a 
whole,  the  forms  of  their  component  parts,  and  the  forms 
of  sentence  structure  as  well.  For  the  same  means,  and 
none  but  those  enumerated  above,  are  available  for  all 
three.  In  fact  morphology  (schematology)  is  not  so 
much  the  treatment  of  a  certain  particular  set  of  objects 
as  the  manner  of  treating  any  linguistic  expression  from 
a  certain  point  of  view,  namely,  that  of  its  form. 

Our  dictionaries  register  a  large  mass  of  word-forms, 
i.  e.,  sounds  arranged  in  a  fixed  order,  and  charged 
with  some  meaning.  E.  g.,  the  sounds  5,  a,  r,  t  in  this 

tions  for  gender,  number,  and  person.  All  inflection  for  agreement  is 
inflection  for  relation." 

It  has  been  noted  by  Wackernagel  (Altind.  Gramm.,  p.  Ixvii)  that 
Panini,  I,  2.  56  f.  implies  a  clear  distinction  of  the  formal  and  semantic 
aspect.  The  passage  referred  to  would  exclude  all  semantic  considera- 
tions from  grammar  and  confine  the  latter  to  a  purely  formal  analysis. 

1  Or,  better  perhaps,  of  schematology ;  for  since  the  term  "  morphol- 
ogy "  has  been  pre-empted  in  current  grammar  for  the  study  of  the  formative 
and  inflectional  elements  of  words  (the  so-called  "  morphological "  ele- 
ments), though  it  treats  these  not  only  as  to  form  (nop<t>-fi)  but  also  with 
regard  to  meaning  (cf.  e.g.,  Brugmann's  note  and  references  in  hisGriech. 
Gramm.,8  p.  365,  §  426,  note),  it  might  be  better  to  adopt  Apollonios' 
<rx5)jno,  and  contrast  the  "  schematic  "  aspect  with  the  "  semantic  "  aspect. 

276 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

order  mean  in  German  "beard,"  in  the  order  t,  r,  a,  b 
they  are  associated  with  another  meaning.  Position 
here  determines  meaning.  In  the  same  manner  in  which 
German  "trab"  differs  from  "bart,"  namely,  by  the 
order  of  its  elements,  the  English  dubitative  sentence 
"  I  may  be  hanged  "  differs  from  the  optative  "  May  I  be 
hanged."  In  both  cases  the  same  sounds  or  sound- 
complexes  remain,  the  particular  form  depends  on  their 
order. 

For  the  interrogative  sentence  (apart  from  the  fre- 
quent inversion)  English  employs  a  certain  intona- 
tion which  is  characterized  by  an  ascending  pitch,  and 
thus  distinguishes  between  the  interrogative  "John  is 
his  name?"  and  the  affirmative  "John  is  his  name" 
(with  descending  pitch).  But  this  is  not  an  exclusively 
syntactical  device,  for  the  Siamese  thus  distinguishes 
between  klom,  "round,"  and  klom,  "to  make  round." 
When  we  separate  an  Indo-European  word  like  Latin 
feram,  domini  into  its  component  parts  (or  what  is 
usually  called  its  morphological  elements),  we  simply 
single  out  certain  sequences  of  sounds  in  which  a  certain 
meaning  is  thought  particularly  to  rest,  as  -am  oiferam, 
which  represents  a  certain  tense,  mode,  and  person,  or 
i  of  domini,  which  represents  a  certain  relation,  gen- 
der, and  number.  But  except  for  the  fact  that  these 
"  morphological  parts  "  do  not  occur  independently  and 
have  entered  into  an  inseparable  union  with  their  "  stems, " 
they  do  not  differ  in  any  way  from  "words."  The  -8 
in  English,  "the  man's  son,"  is  exactly  equivalent  to 
the  interposed  "of"  in  "the  son  of  the  man."  Both 
are  sounds,  charged  with  a  definite  meaning;  their  de- 
pendence and  independence  is  a  matter  of  quite  second- 
ary consideration ;  they  stand  in  the  same  relation  to  each 
other  as  re-  to  rursus  in  reeepit  and  rursus  cepit. 

277 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

2  The  hearer  is  first  confronted  by  the  form.  He 
understands  what  is  said  by  associating  with  the 
moulded  and  formed  speech  material  the  same  contents 
with  which  these  forms  were  associated  by  the  speaker. 
To  insure  such  identity  of  associations  is  the  chief  and 
difficult  end  of  all  language.  We  learn  to  understand 
a  foreign  language  in  this  same  manner,  namely,  by 
learning  many  forms  (i.  e.,  words,  constructions, 
phrases)  and  associating  a  meaning  with  each  so  closely 
that  hearing  or  seeing  the  former  will  awaken  the  latter. 
This,  however,  does  not  in  any  great  degree  help  us  to 
use  the  language,  for  the  direction  of  our  associations 
having  once  become  habitual  cannot  be  reversed  at  will. 
Very  small  experience  teaches  that  "  a  pupil  who  should 
learn  Greek  vocables  in  such  a  way  that  he  would  always 
first  pronounce  the  Greek  word  and  then  the  German 
equivalent,  would  gain  but  small  proficiency  in  match- 
ing a  German  word  with  its  Greek  equivalent."1  A 
new  set  of  associations  between  ideas  and  linguistic 
forms  must  be  established  in  order  to  be  able  to  speak  a 
language.  Facility  in  speaking  a  language  is  there- 
fore no  adequate  test  of  a  person's  understanding  of  it. 
If  the  hearer  starts  from  the  form  and  looks  for  its  con- 
tent, the  speaker  starts  with  the  content  and  seeks  forms 
to  convey  it.2  A  study  of  this  content  in  relation  to 
the  linguistic  form  with  which  it  appears  associated  is 
the  province  of  semasiology.  This  term  also  is  here 
taken  in  a  wider  sense  than  that  in  which  it  is  often 

1  Hofler,  Psychologic  (1897),  p.  172. 

2  On  this  double  treatment  of  grammar  cf.  especially  v.  d.  Gabelentz, 
Zt.  f.  Volkerpsych.  u.  Sprachwiss.,  VIII  (1875),  p.  130 ;  Zt.  d.  deut.  mor- 
genland.    Gesell.,  XXXII  (1878),  p.  634  ;  Die  Sprachwissenschaft,  p.  86. 
His  larger  and  smaller  Chinese  grammars  are  arranged  according  to  this 
plan.     Cf.   also  Scherer,  Zt.  f.   d.  osterreich.  Gymnas.  (1878),  p.  119= 
Kleine  Schrift.,  I,  368. 

278 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

used.  It  comprises  the  study  of  the  meaning  of  all 
language  forms,  not  simply  that  of  word-forms.  Like 
morphology,  it  does  not  deal  with  a  separate  set  of 
objects,  but  it  is  the  second  aspect  under  which  all  lin- 
guistic utterances  must  be  viewed.  The  problems  with 
which  semantics  has  to  deal  are  general  and  particular. 
The  general  problem  is  the  question:  What  calls  for 
expression  in  language?  What  must  or  may  be  con- 
veyed to  the  listener?1  The  particular  problems  are: 
By  what  means  has  a  given  language  in  each  individual 

1  It  is  in  the  consideration  of  this  problem  that  the  need  of  an  alge- 
braic notation  is  most  strongly  felt,  by  which  the  investigator  may  be  en- 
abled to  emancipate  himself  from  the  "  sweet  authority  of  his  particular 
speech  habit"  (Trendelenburg,  Historische  Beitra'gez.  Philosophic  [1867], 
III,  p.  27).  For  it  is  only  in  this  way  that  we  can  see  what  is  essential 
and  unessential  in  any  concrete  language  and  also  gain  a  definite  standard 
by  which  a  given  language  may  be  measured  and  two  or  more  languages  of 
different  structure  may  be  compared.  The  best  treatment  of  this  side  of 
the  question  is  found  in  Stohr's  Algebra  der  Grammatik  (1898).  A. 
Trendelenbnrg,  Historische  Beitrage  zur  Philosophic  (1867),  III,  p.  1-47, 
gives  a  discussion  of  Leibnitz'  attempt  to  construct  an  algebraic,  univer- 
sal language  together  with  a  sketch  of  Leibnitz'  predecessors  and  follow- 
ers. Leibnitz'  ideal  was  a  system  of  algebraic  signs  which  should  rest  upon 
a  complete  analysis  of  all  concepts  and  ideas  and  of  their  relations.  If 
this  were  once  successfully  accomplished,  all  controversies  would,  he 
hoped,  be  reduced  to  mathematical  problems,  and  every  error  would  be 
perceived  as  an  error  in  calculation.  E.  Schroder,  Vorlesungen  uber  die 
Algebra  der  Logik  (1890),  I,  p.  63,  no.  £2,  and  p.  93,  no.  a  3,  contains  a 
very  full  bibliography.  Cf .  also  Schleicher,  Zur  Morphologie  der  Sprache, 
in  Denkschriften  d.  kaiserlich  russischen  Akademie  (1859)  [also  Lefmann 
in  his  biography  of  Schleicher,  p.  42 ;  Steinthal,  Zt.  f.  Volkerpsych.  nnd 
Sprachwiss.,  I,  432]. 

The  present  aversion  to  everything  that  savors  at  all  of  logic  in  the 
treatment  of  grammar  has  created  a  prejudice  against  even  the  legitimate 
use  of  logical  considerations,  which  are  sometimes  highly  suggestive,  as 
Stohr's  pamphlet  proves.  Cf.  Marty,  Uber  das  Verhaltniss  v.  Grammatik 
n.  Logik  in  Symbolae  Pragenses,  Festgabe  der  deutschen  Gesellschaft  f. 
Alterthumskunde  in  Prag.  z.  42.  Versammlung  deut.  Philol.  u.  Schul- 
manner  in  Wien  (1893),  p.  99,  who  takes  however  the  term  "  logic  "  in  a 
wider  sense  than  is  usually  done  (p.  103). 

279 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

case  expressed  its  thought?  How  many  meanings 
is  the  same  form  capable  of  expressing?  In  how 
many  different  forms  can  the  same  thought  be 
expressed  ? 

All  grammar  and  all  lexicography  are  contained  in  the 
answers  to  these  questions. 

3  What  calls  for  expression  in  language  ?  In  most  cases 
an  idea,  a  mental  picture,  and,  in  connection  with  it, 
perhaps  some  desire.  Being,  however,  of  a  very  com- 
posite nature,  this  can  only  be  gradually  conveyed  to 
the  hearer.  An  infinite  number  of  sound-complexes 
would  be  needed,  if  a  whole  idea  were  to  be  associated 
with  each ;  just  as  an  enormous  number  of  signs  would 
be  needed  if,  like  the  Chinese,  we  were  to  have  a 
different  sign  for  each  whole  word.  For  this  purpose 
every  such  compound  impression  is  first  analyzed  by  the 
speaker  and  divided  so  that  he  may  transmit  element 
after  element  to  the  hearer,  who  in  turn  puts  all  these 
elements  together,  and  obtains  in  this  way  more  or  less 
exactly  the  same  composite  idea  which  the  speaker  had. 
How  to  enable  the  hearer  to  recompose  the  elements  in 
exactly  the  same  manner  as  the  speaker  saw  them  is  the 
chief  problem  with  which  all  languages  have  to  grapple. 
When  a  man  speaks  he  is  not  stringing  one  percept  to 
another,  he  is  doing  exactly  the  reverse ; 1  he  is  analyz- 

1  Cf.  Jodl,  Lehrb.  d.  Psych.,  p.  177  :  "  Es  ist  der  Irrthum  aller  Irrthiimer 
auf  psychologischem  Gebiete  zu  meinen,  dass  sich  unsere  Bewusstseins- 
entwicklung  genetisch  aus  dem  aufbaue,  was  die  Analyse  als  einfaches  Ele- 
ment kennen  lehrt.  Gegeben  ist  uns  urspriinglich  immer  ein  Complex, 
und  der  wirkliche  Hergaiig  ist  nicht  der  Aufbau  dieses  Complexes  aus 
seinen  Elementen,  sondern  die  Zerlegung  dieses  Complexes  in  seine  Theile. 
Das  Ganze  geht  im  Leben  den  Theilen  voran ;  nur  in  der  Wissenschaft  ist 
es  umgekehrt."  In  a  very  noteworthy  paper  which  R.  C.  Temple  began  in 
the  Journal  Roy.  As.  Soc.,  1899,  p.  597  (=Ind.  Antiquar.,  [August]  1899, 
p.  197),  he  says:  "I  was  forced  to  begin  [the  treatment  of  the  agglutina- 
tive languages]  where  the  other  grammars  ended,  namely,  with  the  sen- 

280 


SEMANTIC   CHANGE 

ing  a  compound  idea,  moulding  it,  so  that  it  will  be 
articulate  (in  the  true  sense  of  this  word,  i.  e.,  become 
jointed),  and  he  does  this  because  he  cannot  transmit  a 
compound  idea  to  his  neighbor,  but  can  only  pass  it 
on  to  him  joint  after  joint  and  leave  it  to  him  to  put 
them  together.  Take  this  passage 1  (Apollodorus 
loquitur):  "They  met  him  in  the  market-place  with 
ashes  on  their  heads  and  their  gods  in  their  hands. 
They  placed  the  gods  at  his  feet.  The  only  one  that 
was  worth  looking  at  was  Apis :  a  miracle  of  gold  and 
ivory  work.  By  my  advice  he  offered  the  chief  priest 
two  talents  for  it."  The  scene  before  Apollodorus'  mind 
is  broken  up  into  a  convenient  number  of  elements,  for 
each  of  which  language  furnishes  a  definite  symbol. 
The  process  of  analysis  must  adapt  itself  to  these  sym- 
bols, hence  the  form  in  which  the  thought  is  finally 
cast  differs  according  to  the  language  employed.  This 
double  process,  first  of  analysis  by  the  speaker,  then  of 
synthesis  by  the  hearer,  may,  with  a  fair  degree  of 
accuracy,  be  likened  to  the  similar  double  process  in 
writing  and  reading.  In  writing  a  word  we  start  with 
the  aggregate  of  sounds 2  which  can  only  gradually  be 

tence,  defining  sentence  as  the  expression  of  complete  meaning  in  language 
and  making  that  the  nnit  of  language." 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  speaker  Paul's  definition  of  a  "  sentence  " 
(Principien,8  p.  110) :  "Der  Satz  ist  der  sprachliche  Ausdruck,  das  Sym- 
bol daf  iir,  dass  sich  die  Verbindung  mehrerer  Vorstellungen  oder  Vorstel- 
lungsgruppen  in  der  Seele  des  Sprechenden  vollzogen  hat "  is  undoubtedly 
wrong.  Cf.  Wnndt's  latest  exposition  of  the  analytical  theory  in  his 
Volkerpsychologie :  Die  Sprache.,  II,  p.  234,  "  Der  Satz  als  Gliederung 
einer  Gesammtvorstellung " ;  also  Jerusalem's  Die  Urtheilsfunction 
(1895). 

1  B.  Shaw,  Caesar  and  Cleopatra,  Act  V,  in  Three  Plays  for  Puritans 
(1901),  p.  201. 

2  For  a  word  is  present  in  the  mind  as  one  whole,  not  as  a  succession 
of  sounds. 

281 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

transmitted.  This  sound  mass  is  divided  into  a  con- 
venient number  of  elements,  each  one  of  which  is 
represented  by  a  written  symbol  (the  letter).  Reading 
implies  a  synthesis  of  these  symbols  and  of  the  sounds 
associated  with  them.  Here  also  the  number  of  sym- 
bols is  restricted  for  every  language.  •  The  simultaneous 
presence  in  mind  of  the  symbols  is  necessary  to  obtain 
the  word-picture,  just  as  the  simultaneous  presence  of  all 
the  elements  into  which  a  compound  idea  has  been  split 
is  necessary  to  grasp  the  idea.  As  the  letters  of  a  word 
are  the  stable  elements  which  enter  into  a  large  variety 
of  combinations,  so  the  words  of  our  dictionaries  are  the 
comparatively  stable  elements  which,  entering  into  a 
large  number  of  combinations,  may  convey  many  mean- 
ings.1 The  comparison  may  be  carried  one  step  farther. 
Every  single  element  into  which  an  idea  may  be  analyzed, 
if  taken  by  itself  alone,  is  capable  of  a  great  variety  of 
combinations,  just  as  every  element  (letter)  into  which 
a  word  has  been  divided  may  enter  into  an  almost  in- 

1  Cf.  Wechssler  (Forsch.  z.  roman.  Philol.,  Festgabe  f.  Suchier,  p.  367) 
on  the  difference  between  "  Wort  "  and  "  Ausserung  "  :  "  Nur  das  erstere 
besitzt  eine  feste,  iramer  aufs  neue  im  wesentlichen  identisch  reprodu- 
zierte  Einheit  (with  a  reference  to  Humboldt's  "  Das  Wort  .  .  .  ist  [in  der 
Sprache],  was  in  der  lebendigen  Welt  das  Individuum  ") ;  nicht  aber  die 
Ausserung  als  solche,  die  stets  in  neuen  Variationen  —  wenn  auch  meist 
in  gewissen  wiederkehrenden  Typen  —  erzeugt  wird."  The  latter  part  of 
this  statement  has  been  elaborated  by  Klinghardt  (Englische  Studien, 
XIV,  p.  95),  who  uses  the  term  "  Ausdrucksform  "  for  the  "typische 
Verbindung  zweier  oder  mehrerer  Worte  "  and  subdivides  this  into  (1) 
"  generelle  (constructionelle,  syntactische)  Ausdrucksform  "  and  (2)  "  indi- 
viduelle  (phraseologische)  Ausdrucksform."  The  former  class  comprises 
"forms  of  expression,"  "die  sich  im  allerverschiedensten  Wortmaterial 
in  endloser  Mannigfaltigkeit  nachbilden  lassen,"  e.  g.,  the  "  construction  of 
the  accusative  with  infinitive."  To  the  second  class  belong  phrases  which 
are  either  absolutely  unique  and  isolated  (e.  g.,  "  What 's  the  matter  ?") 
or  partly  so  (e.  g.,  "  How  are  you  1  "  which  may  vary  within  certain  limits, 
as  "  How  is  he  ?  "  "  How  is  your  brother  ?  "  etc.). 

282 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

definite  number  of  combinations.  In  both  cases  as  one 
element  is  added  to  another  the  possibility  of  these 
combinations  steadily  decreases,  the  area  is  more  and 
more  closely  circumscribed,  until,  when  the  word  is 
spelt  out  or  the  statement  completed,  all  combinations 
are  definitely  determined  and  no  freedom  of  association 
is  left  to  the  hearer.1  This  at  least  is  the  ideal  of  all 
communication.  There  are,  however,  serious  difficul- 
ties2 in  attaining  it. 

4  The  idea  as  a  whole,  therefore,  cannot  be  expressed 
in  language ;  speech  can  furnish  expression  for  the  ele- 
ments only  of  a  complex  idea.  All  these  linguis- 
tic symbols  fall  into  three  fundamental  categories: 
(1)  names,  (2)  expressions  for  the  attitude  of  the 
speaker,  and  (3)  expressions  of  relation. 

A  definite  group  of  sounds  which  is  the  symbol  for  a 
perceptual  or  imaginary,  concrete  or  abstract,  thing 
(e.  g.,  house,  Juno),  quality  (e.  g.,  great,  greatness, 
cupidity),  action  (e.  #.,  to  run,  laughter),  or  state  (e.  g., 
to  burn,  sick,  health),  is  here  called  a  name.  In  gram- 
mar it  is  frequently  called  a  "root,"  as  in  Chinese. 
The  term  is  objectionable  on  account  of  its  ambiguity; 
for  it  denotes  two  entirely  different  grammatical  concep- 
tions. When  we  speak  of  "  roots  "  in  Chinese  we  refer 
to  actual  linguistic  entities;  every  Chinese  sentence 
contains  a  number  of  such  invariable  "roots."  In  Indo- 
European  grammar,3  on  the  other  hand,  we  mean  by 
"root"  that  portion  of  a  word  which  cannot  further  be 

1  Cf.  Stohr,  Algebra  d.  Grammatik  (1898),  chapter  vii,  p.  51 ;  Jeru- 
salem, Urtheilsf unction  (1895),  chapter  iv,  p.  21. 

2  "  One  of  the  hardest  things  in  the  world  is  to  convey  a  meaning  ac- 
curately from  one  mind  to  another,"  writes  C.  L.  Dodgson  (Lewis  Carroll) 
to  Miss  Dora  Abdy.    (The  Life  and  Letters  of  Lewis  Carroll,  by  S.  D. 
Collingwood  [1898],  p.  331.) 

8  Brugmanu,  Grundriss,  I  (2d  ed.),  part  I,  §  22,  p.  2. 

283 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

analyzed.  In  this  sense  "  root "  is  contrasted  with  "  for- 
mative elements,"  such  as  prefixes  and  suffixes.  What- 
ever cannot  be  shown  to  be  a  "  formative  element "  must 
be  considered  a  "root."  The  two  are  complementary. 
Both  root  and  formative  are  necessary  grammatical 
abstractions,  depending  on  the  keenness  of  our  analysis 
and  varying,  therefore,  at  different  periods. 

The  logical  category  of  each  name  is  definitely  fixed ; 
it  stands  either  for  a  thing,  or  for  a  quality,  or  for  an 
action,  or  for  a  state,  and  these  categories  have  no  in- 
herent connection  with  the  grammatical  or  syntactical 
categories  of  "substantive,"  "adjective,"  or  "verb," 
as  is  clearly  seen  in  the  Chinese,  where  the  quality- 
name  ta  may  play  the  grammatical  part  of  substantive 
(English  "greatness"),  adjective  (English  "great"), 
adverb  (English  "greatly"),  or  verb  (English  "to  be 
great,"  "to  make  great").1  This  freedom  the  gram- 
matical architecture  of  the  Indo-European  sacrificed 
when  it  decided2  to  attach  uniformly  to  every  name 
a  label  by  which  the  grammatical  r6le  it  was  cast  to 
play  might  be  indicated.  In  Chinese,  roots  do  not 
make-up  until  they  enter  upon  the  sentence  stage, 
when  by  their  position  their  rSles  are  indicated.  In 
Indo-European  no  word  can  ever  lay  its  syntactical 
make-up  aside. 

No  language,  it  appears,  has  thought  it  fit  to  make  any 
consistent  formal  distinction  of  names  according  to  the 
logical  categories  given  above,  distinguishing,  for  in- 
stance, by  accent  or  vowel  changes,  quality  words  from 
action  words. 

1  This  distinction  between  logical  and  grammatical  category  is  well 
brought  out  by  v.  d.  Gabelentz  in  his  Chinese  grammars.     Pie  further 
distinguishes  them  by  different  sets  of  names,  the  one  German,  the  other 
Latin  (as  "  Thatigkeitswort "  and  "  Verbum  "). 

2  This  is,  of  course,  a  mere  figure  of  speech ;  no  conscious  selection  is 
thought  of.  284 

r 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

5  A  compound  idea  may  be  and  usually  is  expressed  by 
two  names,  each  one  standing  for  one  of  its  elements,  as 
puer  parvus,  valde  peritus,  edere  volo,  calere  coepit. 
But  some  languages  accomplish  the  same  result  by 
phonetic  modifications  of  one  name,  these  modifica- 
tions standing  in  lieu  of  the  second  name.  So  in  Latin 
puella  (*puer-la),  peritissimus,  esurio,  calescit.  The 
origin  of  these  modifications  is  a  separate  and  often 
difficult  problem.  Some  of  them  may  be  due  to  purely 
phonetic  causes,  such  as  the  shifting  of  accent.  This  is 
practically  certain  in  those  vowel  mutations  (ablaut) 
which  have  later  acquired  tense  signification,  as  "  bind, " 
"bound."  Others  have  undoubtedly  started  life  as  in- 
dependent names.  But  the  unity  of  the  compound  idea, 
the  coherence  of  its  elements,  was  so  great  that  it  is 
reflected  phonetically  by  a  combination  of  the  elements 
into  one  linguistic  whole.  All  such  coalescence  is,  as 
pointed  out  elsewhere  (p.  183),  the  sign  of  particularly 
firm  association  between  words  frequently  used  in  close 
succession  and  standing  for  one  idea.  It  marks  the 
reversal  from  analysis  to  synthesis,  and  is  comparable 
to  the  casting  of  two  letters  on  the  same  body,  as  is 
sometimes  done,  e.  g.,  in  the  case  of  "fi."  Such  is,  for 
instance,  the  case  in  the  Latin  imperfects  in  -5am,  in 
which  the  "  ending  "  was  originally  the  independent  verb 
bhuam,  "  I  grew."  The  difference  between  ama-bam  and 
amatus  eram  lies  simply  in  the  degree  of  coherence  of 
the  two  elements  which  make  up  these  two  "periphras- 
tic "  tenses,  and  in  the  absence  of  an  independent  bam, 
bas,  bat,  etc.,  outside  of  the  compound  forms;  the  third 
person  singular  of  the  perfect  passive  amain?  st  forms  a 
bridge  between  the  two  extremes.  In  vulgar  English 
-ere  in  "this-'ere,"  -all  in  the  Southern  "you-all" 
(plural  to  "you"),  are  on  the  verge  of  passing  into 

285 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

suffixes.  In  the  same  way  vulgar  English  may  yet  de- 
velop from  a  peculiar  connective  use  of  "which"1  a 
"prefix"  which-,  by  which  demonstrative  pronouns  are 
turned  into  relative  pronouns,  as  "Mrs.  Boffin  which- 
her  father's  name  was  Henery;"  though  this  is  yet  in 
its  first  stages. 

In  Japanese  the  "numeratives  "  appear  very  much  like 
suffixes  to  the  numerals.  The  Japanese,  as  the  Chinese, 
does  not  join  its  numerals  directly  with  the  name  of  the 
object  counted,  but  interposes  between  the  two  a  "  nu- 
merative,"  or  "auxiliary  numeral,"  or  "classifier,"  as  it 
is  sometimes  called  (as  we  may  say  in  English,  "  one  loaf 
of  bread, "  "  a  hundred  head  of  cattle ; "  hence  the  Pidgin 
English,  "  one  piecey  cannon, "  "  six  piecey  cannon, "  for 
"one  cannon,"  "six  cannons  ").  The  closeness  of  their 
union  with  the  numeral  is  shown  in  the  phonetic 
changes  which  result  from  the  combination  of  numeral 
and  numerative,  such  as  the  change  of  "ichi"  (numeral 
"  one  ")  to  ip-  in  ip-pai  (numeral  "  one  "  +  numerative 
"Aai"  =  "cup  ";  as  " cha  ip-pai,"  "one  cup  of  tea"). 
In  all  these  cases  the  embryology  of  affixes  and  "  agglu- 
tination "  may  be  studied. 

Still  other  modifications  may,  according  to  Bloom- 
field's  plausible  hypothesis,2  be  the  result  of  the  contam- 
ination of  congeneric  words.  Whether  all  so-called  root- 
determinatives  belong  here  must  remain  doubtful,  but 
the  Vedic  ^bhyas,  by  the  side  of  the  ^/bhl,  "to  fear," 
may  well  owe  its  determinative  to  ^/tras,  "tremble,"  as 
Modern  High  German  heischen  owes  its  h-  to  heissen. 

So  much  is  still  doubtful  regarding  the  origin  of  these 

1  Storm,  Engl.  Philol.  (2d  ed.),  II,  p.  802,  1039;  the  close  similarity 
between  the  function  of  this  "  which "  and  the   Hebrew  "|EH  is  note- 
worthy. 

2  Indogerm.   Forsch.,  IV  (1894),  p.  32;  cf.  also  American  Journal  of 
Philol.,  XVI,  p.  409. 

286 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

modifications  that  we  can  hardly  do  more  than  claim 
that  combination  o±  formerly  independent  elements 
(agglutination)  was  not  the  only  factor,  that  many  of  the 
modifying  elements  received  their  whole  semantic  value 
from  the  company  they  kept  (as,  for  instance,  the  "  incho- 
ative "  suffix  -so-  gained  its  signification  from  cresco 1), 
a  process  somewhat  similar  to  that  which  Ludwig  2  called 
"adaptation,"  and  further  that  a  certain  amount  of  adap- 
tation must  be  assumed  for  all  formative  elements, 
whether  they  started  with  an  independent  meaning  or 
not. 

6  The  attitude  of  the  speaker  toward  the  utterance, 
namely,  its  reality,  its  probability,  its  desirability,  what 
Apollonios  Dyskolos  called  the  ^v^ticr)  Sidde<n<?,s  may 
be  and  often  is  expressed  by  separate  sound  complexes 
(words),  such  as  forsan,  nimirum,  scilicet,  ut  opinor, 
spero  fore  ut,  in  Latin;  "may  be,"  "I  guess,  fancy, 
reckon,"  "probably,"  "hardly,"  etc.,  in  English.  But 
here  again,  as  in  the  cases  instanced  in  §  5,  these  atti- 
tudes may  not  be  separately  expressed,  but  indicated  by 
a  phonetic  alteration  of  some  other  sentence  element. 
In  this  case  current  grammatical  terminology  speaks  of 
"modes."  Individual  languages  differ,  of  course,  in 
the  number  of  attitudes  which  are  expressed  indepen- 
dently and  those  which  lead  a  parasitic  existence.  At 
times  both  manners  are  combined:  "tu  quaeso  scribe." 
The  Indo-European  languages,  for  instance,  have  de- 
veloped no  "negative  verbal  mode,"  but  instead  use 
a  separate  particle,  non,  ov,  etc. ;  for  the  isolated 

1  Bloomfield,  1.  c. ;  Brugmann,  Grundriss,  II,  p.  1036. 

2  A  good  summary  of  the  theories  of  agglutination  (Bopp's)  and  adap- 
tation (Ludwig's)  is  given  by  Delbriick,  Einleitung,  chapter  v. 

8  Cf.  Lange  in  Verhandl.  d.  28ten  Versammlung  deutscher  Philol.,  etc., 
1873  (for  1872),  p.  35  ;  Schomann,  Fleckeisen's  Jahrbiicher,  1869,  part  I, 
p.  13,  212,  390  ;  Skrzeczka,  ibid.,  p.  161. 

287 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

Sanskrit  and  Greek l  a-  privative  with  verbs  cannot  be 
counted  here.  Other  languages,  like  the  Japanese, 
possess  such  a  mode,  as  Japanese  ochita,  "I  fell,"  ochina- 
katta,  "I  did  not  fall,"  ochireba,  "if  I  fall,"  ochinakereba, 
"if  I  do  not  fall."  (This  negative  mode  is  often  im- 
properly called  "  negative  voice ; "  but  it  is  clear  that  it 
does  not  form  a  contrast  to  active  or  passive  voice,  but 
to  the  affirmative,  i.  e.,  indicative  mode.) 

The  attitude  of  the  speaker  toward  a  single  word  finds 
very  rarely  formal  expression,  as  when  the  so-called 
diminutive  ending  implies  disparagement  or  endearment. 
The  reason  is  that  most  words  (excepting  terms  of  re- 
proach and  endearment)  are  seldom  used  independently 
or  isolated,  and  the  attitude  of  the  speaker  is  therefore 
sufficiently  indicated  by  the  context. 

7  Finally  the  relation  of  the  members  of  an  utterance 
to  each  other  calls  for  expression.     How  largely,  how- 
ever, and  by  what  means  these  relations  shall   be  ex- 
pressed  is  a   problem   which  different  languages  have 
solved   differently.     Sometimes   they  make  use  of  in- 
dependent sound-complexes,   like    "in,"   "to,"   "for," 
"because,"  "nevertheless,"  "if";  sometimes  of  phonetic 
modifications  of  the  names,  as  patris,  domino,  man's, 
Japanese  kureba  ("if  I  come"  from  kuru,  "I  come"), 
kuredo  or  kuredomo  ("  though  I  come  ") ;  sometimes  of 
a   definite   order  of  the  names,  as   in   English,  "The 
father  [subject]  lost  the  boy  [object] ;  "  2  sometimes  they 
combine  all  these  means. 

8  In  regard  to  the  formal   expression  of  names,  atti- 
tude, and  relation,  the  structure  of  the  Indo-European 
languages,  more,  perhaps,  than  that  of   many  others, 

1  Brugmann,  Griech.  Gramm.  (3d  ed.,  in  Iwan  v.  Miiller's  Handbuch), 
§  590,  p.  529. 

2  Stohr,  Algebra  der  Grammatik,  p.  66,  calls  this  "  tactic  derivation." 

288 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

exhibits  a  notable  peculiarity,  namely,  polysynthesis. 
Its  formative  elements  are  usually  freighted  with  mean- 
ings definitely  grouped.  The  ending  of  ama-rem  ex- 
presses, (1)  the  attitude  of  the  speaker,  (2)  the  person 
of  the  speaker,  (3)  the  time  relation ;  the  -i  in  domini 
combines  (1)  gender,  (2)  number,  (3)  the  "  case  "  rela- 
tion, (4)  an  implication  of  the  nominal  character  of  the 
word.  In  a  similar  way  our  suffixes  often  combine  lex- 
ical and  grammatical  significations,  as  -sc-,  which  marks 
a  word  as  a  verb  while  at  the  same  time  it  adds  the 
inchoative  meaning.  It  is  clear  that  the  number  of  such 
possible  combinations  of  two  or  more  meanings  is  practi- 
cally unlimited,  at  any  rate  that  it  far  surpasses  the 
number  of  actual  formatives.  The  consequence  is  that 
certain  combinations  cannot  be  expressed  by  separate 
formatives  and  that  often  a  formative  carries  more  mean- 
ing than  is  wanted,  for  the  reason  that,  a  formative 
element  with  a  simpler  meaning  being  lacking,  a  forma- 
tive with  a  complex  meaning  must  be  chosen.1  For 

1  It  is  worth  while  to  call  attention  here  to  a  passage  in  Powell's  Evolu- 
tion of  Language  (First  Annual  Report,  Smithson.  Inst,  Bureau  of  Eth- 
nology, 1881,  p.  15)  in  which  this  polysynthesis  is  contrasted  with  analysis: 
"  When  the  parts  of  speech  are  fully  differentiated  and  the  process  of 
placement  fully  specialized,  so  that  the  order  of  sentence  has  its  full 
significance,  no  useful  purpose  is  subserved  hy  inflection.  All  paradig- 
matic inflection  requires  thought.  .  .  .  When  inflections  are  greatly  multi- 
plied as  they  are  in  the  [American]  Indian  languages  alike  with  Greek 
and  Latin,  the  speaker  is  compelled  in  the  choice  of  his  words  to  think  of 
a  multiplicity  of  things  which  have  no  connection  with  that  which  he 
wishes  to  express."  When  he  continues,  "  In  the  development  of  the 
English,  as  well  as  the  French  and  German,  linguistic  evolution  has  not 
heen  in  vain.  Judged  hy  these  criteria  the  English  stands  alone  in  the 
highest  rank,"  his  words  might  be  taken  as  a  motto  to  Jespersen's  Prog- 
ress in  Language  ( 1 894 ;  an  English  adaptation  of  his  Studier  over 
Engelske  Kasus,  1891)  which  is  largely  given  over  to  an  elaboration  of 
the  thesis  that  progress  in  language  consists  in  the  gradual  simplification 
and  final  removal  of  inflection. 

19  289 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

instance:  The  Indo-European  terminations  for  the  so- 
called  nominative  case  combine  (1)  an  implication  of  the 
nominal  character  of  the  word  to  which  they  are  ap- 
pended, (2)  its  gender,  (3)  its  number,  and  finally  (4) 
an  indication  that  in  the  sentence  structure  the  word  is 
intended  to  play  the  part  of  the  subject.  The  ending  is 
not  so  much  that  of  a  casus  nominativus  (a  naming  case) 
as  of  a  casus  subjectivus.  A  formative  element  which 
combines  only  the  first  three  meanings  does  not  exist. 
Yet  there  is  need  of  it  in  those  cases  in  which  no 
sentence  structure  requiring  a  subject  is  attempted, 
i.  e.,  where  there  is  no  division  into  subject  and  predi- 
cate, where  there  is  no  judgment  implied,  but  the  pro- 
cess is  simply  one  of  multiple  appellation.  The  sentence 
architecture  which  requires  a  subject  so  overshadows 
all  other  forms  of  expression  in  the  Indo-European  lan- 
guages that  these  latter  are  commonly  regarded  as  mere 
abortions  of  the  former,  and  are  forced  into  some  sem- 
blance of  (elliptic)  sentence.  But  such  explanations 
do  not  represent  the  naive  attitude  toward  these  lin- 
guistic forms;  they  start  from  the  prejudice  that  the 
"real,"  "complete,"  or  "ideal "  form  of  expression  is  the 
Indo-European  sentence  with  its  division  and  formal 
separation  of  subject  and  predicate  and  its  peculiar 
elaboration  of  the  verb.1  Anna  Hitter2  begins  one  of 
her  poems  with  these  lines: 

Ein  Frauenkleid  bestrahlt  vom  Feuerschein, 
Ein  spriihend  Licht  in  steinbesetzten  Ringen, 
Und  weisse  Finger,  die  sich  eng  verschlingen. 

No  judgment,  no  sentence   whatever.      Simply  the 
enumeration  of  a  number  of  words  with  which  definite 

1  Cf .  the  excellent  discussion  by  Stohr,  Algebra  der  Grammatik,  chapter 
XT,  p.  93. 

2  Gedichte  (4th  ed.,  1899),  p.  147. 

290 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

ideas  are  connected,  a  labelling  of  part  after  part  of  a 
complex  picture,  a  series  of  "appellations."  These  cases 
are  frequent  in  advertisements,  where,  under  certain 
labels,  such  as  For  Sale,  Wanted,  and  the  like,  asyntactic 
descriptions  of  the  objects  are  given ;  for  instance :  "  For 
Sale.  A  large  house  with  garden,  all  modern  improve- 
ments, sanitary  plumbing,  set  tubs."  All  this  can,  of 
course,  be  converted  into  syntactic  form,  but  as  it 
stands  and  psychologically  considered  the  series  of  juxta- 
posed words  serves  the  same  purpose  as  a  picture. 
In  modern  poetry  and  prose  many  instances  of  this 
kind  can  be  found ;  they  seem  to  be  absent  in  the  lit- 
erary remains  of  the  classical  languages,  or  at  least  ex- 
cessively rare.  I  do  not  recall  a  single  instance, 
excepting  lists  of  names  (as  of  recruits  or  citizens,  e.  g., 
Cauer's  Del.  2d  ed.  nos.  409  and  395);  or  superscrip- 
tions like  0eo'?,  rt^a,  6eoC ;  or  headings  implying  dates,  as 
7r/30Tcm9  Me\tS&)/3o?  (Ibid.,  no.  430  C.  29).  xpovos  6  auro? 
(Ibid.,  no.  295,  p.  201,  line  72  =  173).  Perhaps  the 
reason  is  that  the  nominative  endings  (of  which  the 
modern  languages  have  largely  rid  themselves)  were 
too  strongly  charged  with  the  "functional"  meaning 
of  the  subject  relation;  that  therefore  they  could  not 
well  appear  outside  of  the  sentence  and  without  the 
retinue  of  a  predicate  (verb). 

Another  instance  of  such  a  dilemma  is  the  much-dis- 
cussed case  of  impersonal  verbs.1  For  these  Stbhr,  in  his 
exceedingly  suggestive  Algebra  der  Grammatik  (1898), 
offers  the  simplest  and,  to  me,  most  plausible  explanation. 
The  Indo-European  and  the  Semitic  languages  have  both 

1  An  extensive  literature  has  grown  up  around  this  question.  Cf. 
especially  Sigwart,  Die  Impersonalien  (1888) ;  Marty  in  a  series  of  articles 
beginning  in  Vierteljahrsschrift  fur  wissenschaft.  Philosophic,  VIII, 
p.  56 ;  Wundt,  Logik  (2d  ed.),  I,p-  176 ;  Volkerpsychologie,  Die  Sprache, 
II,  p.  218. 

291 


LECTURES   ON   THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

developed  the  characteristic  grammatical  device  of  the 
personal  verb.  The  subject  of  the  sentence,  according  to 
this  structural  plan,  stands  uniformly  for  something  which 
or  somebody  who  does  something  or  suffers  something. 
Whether  action  or  suffering  be  involved  is  decided  by 
two  separate  sets  of  formatives  added  to  the  verb,  as, 
pater  {^.\ur.  The  Indo-European  and  Semitic  verb 
therefore  always  and  necessarily  implies  a  reference  to 
somebody  acting  or  suffering.  "  Semitic  '  Sprachlogik  ' 

—  and   I   think   also   '  Sprachbewusstsein, '    recognizes 
no  subjectless  clauses;  the  inflection  of  the  verb  con- 
tains  an   implicit  subject   [z.  e.,   it  implies  a  subject] 

—  what  subject,  is  either  understood  from  the  context 
or  from  common  knowledge,  and  it  must  always  be  pos- 
sible to  substitute  or  rather  to  subjoin  the  corresponding 
explicit  subject."  1     For  those  cases  in  which  there  is  no 
actor  but  only  an  action,  no  one  suffering  but  only  a 
state,  no  formal  provision  is  made.     Here  the  compound 
meaning  of  these  conjugational  endings  with  its  neces- 
sary implication  of  person  and  voice,  and  in  the  Semitic 
of  gender  also,  interferes  with  the  logic  of  the  expres- 
sion.    True,  of  the  "  impersonal "  verbs  those  referring 
to  natural  phenomena  may  have  had  originally  a  real 
subject,  like  Alcaeus'  ua  p,ev  6  Zeu?,  Homer's  Zeu<?  ve, 
or  Arabic  matarat  as-samd'u,  talagat  as-samd'u,    "the 
sky  rained,  the  sky  snowed. "     But  even  in  those  cases 
there  is  no  clear  proof  that  the  shorter  vet  or  matarat  is 
really  abbreviated.     Even  if  they  were,  however,  it  may 
be  assumed   that  the   educated  Roman  of  Augustus' 
time,  when  he  said  pluit  no  more  felt  Jupiter  to  be  the 
subject  than  the  modern  German  thinks  of  "  das  Feuer  " 
or  "  das  Haus  "  as  subjects  to  "  es  brennt "  or  the  Eng- 
lishman thinks  of  any  subject  when  he  says  "it  rains." 

1  From  a  letter  of  President  G.  F.  Moore,  of  Andover. 
292 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

"When  we  use  such  a  phrase,  all  we  desire  to  express  is 
our  belief  in  the  reality  of  an  action  and  its  time,  irre- 
spective of  any  agent.  Such  a  thing  is  impossible  in 
our  language,  inasmuch  as  our  verbs  cannot  divest  them- 
selves of  their  personal  endings.  The  so-called  imper- 
sonal verbs  are  a  compromise,  as  it  were,  between  logic 
and  grammar.  The  latter  furnishes  only  forms  which 
imply  an  active  or  passive  subject.  Logic  demands  the 
expression  of  a  state  without  reference  to  a  subject. 
By  a  compromise,  grammar  is  satisfied  by  retaining  for- 
mal reference  to  a  subject,  logic  by  the  reduction  of  the 
semantic  value  of  this  implicit  subject.  This  reduction 
amounts  to  annihilation,  and  thus  only  the  outer  shell 
of  the  subject  survives.  As  in  pluit,  "it  rains," subject 
and  personal  endings  are  emptied  of  their  meaning,  so 
in  pugnatur  the  passive  voice  has  undergone  the  same 
process.  While  a  grammatical  subject,  like  pugna,  can 
be  supplied  here  in  some  cases,  other  expressions,  like 
ventum  erat,  trepidatur,  cannot  be  treated  in  this  way, 
which  at  best  is  only  a  desperate  attempt  to  save  the 
subject  of  the  clause,  like  Arabic  matara  'l-malaru, 
talaga  'l-talgu,  "the  rain  rained,"  "the  snow  snowed." 
The  "  impersonal  verb "  is  the  inevitable  result  of  the 
requirement  of  a  subject  in  the  sentence  structure  and  a 
symptom  of  its  logical  inefficiency  under  certain  con- 
ditions. In  languages  which  have  no  personal  verb  an 
impersonal  construction  is  impossible.  The  Japanese 
ame  ga  fuku  is  literally  "  of  (go)  rain  (ame)  [there  is] 
a  falling  down  (/W&M)." 

9  It  is  customary  to  distinguish  between  the  meaning 
of  sound-complexes  which  stand  for  names  and  the 
meaning  of  those  devices  by  which  the  attitude  of  the 
speaker  and  the  relations  of  members  of  an  utterance  to 
each  other  are  indicated.  Of  the  former  we  use  the 

293 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

word  "meaning,"  of  the  latter  the  word  "function." 
The  term  "meaning"  has  thus  acquired  a  narrower 
semantic  sphere,  being  attached  to  the  treatment  of 
entire  words  and  the  domain  of  lexicography,  while 
the  term  "function"  has  assumed  a  distinctly  gram- 
matical and  syntactical  value.  It  may,  however,  be 
questioned  if  such  a  distinction,  which  necessarily 
tends  toward  separation,  is  altogether  advantageous. 
For  if  we  speak,  on  the  one  hand,  of  the  "mean- 
ing" of  the  word  rex,  and  of  the  "changes  of  mean- 
ing" which  orare  has  undergone,  on  the  other  hand 
of  the  "function"  of  the  ending  -am  inferam,  arid  the 
"  changes  of  function  "  which  this  formative  may  have 
undergone,  the  difference  in  terms  seems  .to  imply  a 
difference  in  the  two  objects  discussed.  This  difference, 
however,  is  more  apparent  than  real.  For  the  whole 
difference  is  at  bottom  this,  that  in  the  former  case  we 
deal  with  the  significance  of  independent  linguistic  units, 
in  the  latter  case  with  that  of  significant  parts  of  such 
units.  That  this  is  so  can  be  seen  from  the  fact  that 
whenever  the  attitude  of  the  speaker  or  the  relation  of 
members  of  an  utterance  is  expressed  by  an  independent 
unit,  i.  e.,  by  a  separate  word,  we  speak  not  of  the 
"function  "  but  of  the  "meaning  "  of  such  a  word  (e.  g., 
of  the  meaning  oiforsitan,  "probably,"  etc.,  not  of  their 
function).  As  soon,  however,  as  the  attitude  of  the 
speaker  or  the  relation  of  members  of  an  utterance  is 
expressed  by  some  parasitic  modification  (as  man's, 
/mm),  we  speak  of  the  "  function  "  of  this  phonetic 
modification.  Yet  where  is  the  essential  difference  ?  In 
truth,  it  is  as  much  a  "  function  "  of  the  sound  complex 
r-e-x  to  mean  "  king  "  as  it  is  the  "  function  "  of  "  quaeso  " 
(in  tu  quaeso  scribe)  to  express  desire,  and  the  "func- 
tion "  of  the  -e  (in  lege)  to  express  command.  The 

294 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

difference  is  purely  formal  (external)  and  identical  with 
the  difference  between  English  "  he  probably  came  "  and 
the  Japanese  kitaro  ("he  probably  came"). 

If  this  be  true  the  semantic  aspect  of  the  linguistic 
expressions  for  names,  attitudes,  and  relations  must  be 
essentially  the  same.  The  same  forces  which  are  active 
in  one  of  these  three  classes  are  probably  active  in  the 
others  also.  The  study  of  the  development  of  the 
expressions  of  the  relation  in  which  the  members  of  an 
utterance  stand  to  each  other  (Syntax,  in  Ries'  sense) 
is  not  a  separate  department  of  grammatical  study  in 
the  sense  that  the  objects  with  which  it  deals  are  of  a 
peculiar  nature  not  found  in  other  objects  of  linguistic 
study.  The  semantic  aspect,  like  the  morphological 
aspect,  embraces  all  linguistic  expressions,  and  it  is 
virtually  the  same  for  all. 

One  result  of  this  separation  of  "  function "  and 
"  meaning"  is  clearly  seen  in  the  different  methods  which 
have  been  employed  for  the  study  and  presentation  of 
words  as  independent  wholes  and  of  parts  of  words  or 
utterances.  The  study  of  the  former  (which  sometimes 
has  arrogated  to  itself  the  exclusive  title  of  Semasiology 
or  Semantics)  has  usually  started  from  the  form  and 
discussed  the  various  usages  and  meanings  of  which  a 
given  word-form  has  been  capable  during  its  existence 
in  language.  The  epoch-making  investigation  of 
Heerdegen J  dealing  with  the  history  of  orare  in  Latin  is 
typical  for  this  branch  of  linguistic  study,  which  arose 
in  lexicography  and  received  its  strongest  stimulus  from 
it.  The  coincidence  of  Wolfflin's2  preparatory  work  for 
the  Latin  Thesaurus  in  his  Archiv  and  of  the  large 

1  UntersuchuDgen  z.  latein.  Semasiologie  (1875-81). 

2  In  1887  he  read  a  paper  before  the  39th  meeting  of  German  philologists 
and  schoolmasters  at  Zurich  (Verhandlungen,  etc.,  1888,  p.  61). 

295 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

number  of  contributions  to  word  semantics  is  not  due  to 
chance.  That  such  investigations  cannot  be  carried  on 
without  constant  reference  to  the  causes  which  produced 
semantic  changes  goes  without  saying.  In  books  like 
Darmesteter's  La  vie  des  mots,1  Brdal's  Essai  de  Se'man- 
tique,2  and  K.  Schmidt's  program  Die  Griinde  des 
Bedeutungswandels,3  these  have  been  conveniently 
summarized.4 

Syntactical  investigations,  on  the  other  hand,  have 
largely  started  from  the  meaning,  and,  what  is  of  even 
greater  importance,  the  classification  and  much  of  the 
nomenclature  are  based  upon  meaning  rather  than  form. 
The  reasons  for  this  cannot  be  traced  here  in  detail. 

1  5th  ed.,  1895.    An  English  translation  appeared  in  London,  1886. 
Cf.  also  part  III  of  his  Cours  d.  Gramm.  Histor.  d.  1.  Lang.  Frang.  (2d  ed. 
edited  by  L.  Sudre,  1898). 

2  The  contents  of  previous  articles  are  embodied  in  this  book  (1897). 
An  English  translation  (with  an  introduction  by  Postgate)  was  published 
in  1900. 

8  Programm  d.  Kgl.  Realgymnasiums,  Berlin,  1894. 

4  A  convenient  select  bibliography  of  works  on  word-semantics  is  found 
in  the  note  to  Paul's  Principien  (3d  ed.),  §  51,  p.  66.  The  fullest  psycho- 
logical treatment  is  now  given  by  Wundt,  Volkerpsychologie,  Die  Sprache, 
II,  420-583.  The  work  in  word-semantics  falls  into  three  groups  :  (1)  the 
lexicographical  study  of  single  words  or  word-families  (e.  g.,  Heerdegen's 
study  of  orare,  Liebich's  dictionary  of  word  genealogies  for  the  German, 
Die  Wortfamilien  d.  lebenden  hochdeutschen  Sprache,  1898  f .  (2)  The 
comparative  study  of  concrete  cases  of  semantic  expression  and  develop- 
ment of  the  same  idea  in  various  languages.  A  first  attempt  Q844]  by 
Freund,  "  Uber  die  Idee  einer  allgemeinen  sprachvergleichenden  Lexico- 
graphic "  in  Verhandl.  d.  7ten  Versamml.  deut.  Philol.,  etc.,  1845,  p.  69; 
cf.  Abel's  study  of  the  terms  for  "  love  "  in  Samml.  gemeinverst.  wissensch. 
Vortrage  hrsg.  v.  Virchow  u.  Holtzendorff,  VII  Serie,  nos.  158  and  159 
(1872),  repeated  in  his  Linguistic  Essays  (1882)  and  his  Sprachwlssen- 
schaftliche  Abhandlungen  (1885).  (3)  The  psychological  study  of  the 
causes  which  lead  to  semantic  change  and  the  manner  in  which  it  takes 
place.  (The  first  professed  psychologist  to  discuss  these  was  Rosenthal, 
Die  psychologischen  Bedingungen  des  Bedeutungswandels  der  Worter, 
a  dissertation,  Leipzig,  1884.) 

296 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

One  of  them,  and  a  strong  one,  was  the  purpose  for 
which  all  syntax  was  originally  intended,  namely,  to 
teach  how  a  language  should  be  spoken  and  written. 
From  the  standpoint  of  the  speaker  meaning  precedes 
form.  Syntax  followed  this  order. 

10  In  the  discussion  of  all  semantic  changes  the  logical 
aspect  must  be  carefully  kept  separate  from  the  psycho- 
logical aspect.     The  opening  paragraph  of  Paul's  fourth 
chapter  (in  the  second  edition  of  his  Principien,  1886; 
it  has  been  greatly  modified  in  the  third  edition,  1898) 
illustrates  the  former :  "  (The  change  in  the  meaning  of  a 
word)  always   consists  in  a  widening  or  narrowing  of 
the  extent  of  its  signification,  to  which  corresponds  a 
restriction  or  an  enlargement  of   its   contents.       Only 
through  a  succession  of   enlargements  and  restrictions 
can  the  new  meaning  of  a  word  become  totally  dissimilar 
to  the  old   one."     Such   logical  considerations  are  of 
great  value  in  a  preliminary  arrangement  of  the  mate- 
rial, but  they  do  not  help  to  throw  light  upon  the  actual 
process  of  change  or  the  causes  which  led  to  it.     To 
say  that  sermo,  "talk,"  has  a  wider  meaning  than  sermo, 
"sermon,"  does  not  explain  either  the  how  or  the  why 
of  the  change  of  the  former  to  the  latter.     This  applies 
with  equal  force  to  syntactical  considerations  and  clas- 
sifications.    And  yet  the  real  solution  of  every  semantic 
problem  must  be  sought  in  the  answers  to  the  questions : 
In  what  manner  and  for  what  reason  is  the  same  form 
attached  to  different  contents  ? 

11  The  investigation  must  therefore  start  with  the  nature 
of  the  contents  with  which  linguistic  forms  are  associated 
in  order  to  serve  as  their  symbols. 

The  psychical  content  of  a  sound  series  (word)  is 
never  simple  but  always  more  or  less  complex.  Simple 
psychical  elements  do  not  find  expression  in  language. 

297 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

Various  senses  contribute  to  our  percept  of  an  object. 
Memories  of  certain  visual,  olfactory,  and  auditory  sensa- 
tions enter  into  our  idea  of  a  horse.  With  them  are 
associatively  united  actions  and  qualities  which  formed 
the  predicates  of  judgments  previously  passed,  of  which 
"horse  "  was  the  subject.  And  finally,  the  perception 
of  many  objects  is  accompanied  by  a  definite  emotional 
state  of  either  like  or  dislike.  With  all  these  are  com- 
bined the  motory  sensations  produced  by  the  articula- 
tion of  the  word  "horse,"  to  which  Strieker1  first  called 
attention. 

12     Tobler,2  Stern,3  and  most  recently  Erdmann4  have 
given  due  prominence  to  the  lexicographical  and  stylistic 

1  Strieker.  Studien  iiber  die  Sprachvorstellungen  (1880);  later  litera- 
ture on  the  problem  of  "  internal  speech  "  is  given  by  H.  Aubert,  in  Zt. 
f.  Psych,  u.  Phys.  d.  Sinnesorgane,  I  (1890),  p.  52.     Cf.  especially  Dodge, 
Die  motorischen   Wortvorstellungen    (1896,    being   the   eighth  vol.  of 
Abhandl.  z.  Philosophie,  hrsg.  v.  B.  Erdmann)  and  J.   Cohn,  in  Zt.  f. 
Psych,  u  Physiol.  d.  Sinnesorg.,  XV  (1897),  p.  161. 

2  Aesthetisches  und  Ethisches  im  Sprachgebrauch,  Zt.  f .  Volkerpsych. 
u.  Sprachwiss.,  VI,  p.  385. 

8  Die  Analogic  im  volksthiimlichen  Denken  (1893),  p.  117  :  "Die  Vor- 
stellungeu  geben  die  Objecte,  an  denen  die  Gefiihle  sich  bethiitigen  .  .  . 
Die  Vorstellungen,  welche  auf  diese  Weise  einen  Gefiihlston  erhalten, 
gehen  mit  diesem  Gefuhle  eine  Verbindung  ein,  so  fest,  so  innig,  dass  sie 
leicht  fur  ein  unlosbares  Ganzes  gehalten  werden  .  .  .  Schliesslich  kann 
jener  psychische  Complex  eine  derartige  Festigkeit  erlangen,  dass  der 
Mensch  uberhaupt  nicht  mehr  im  Stande  ist,  die  Gegenstande  abgelost 
von  den  Gefiihlen  zu  denken.  Die  subjective  Verbindung  verwandelt  sich 
dann  im  Denken  zu  einer  objektiven  Kategorie,  das  GefiiMsurtheil  wird 
zum  Werthurtheil." 

*  Die  Bedeutung  des  Wortes  (1901).  In  the  introduction  to  this  very  in- 
teresting and  suggestive  book  he  claims  priority  for  the  term  "  Gefiihlswerth 
der  Worte."  P.  78  ff.  he  distinguishes  between  "begrifflicher  Inhalt" 
(intellectual  content)  and  "  Gesamtbedeutung  "  (total  significance)  of  a 
word.  All  parts  of  the  latter  which  lie  outside  the  "  begriffliche  Inhalt " 
are  "  Nebensinn  "  (by  which  he  understands  "  die  Begleit-  oder  Neben- 
vorstellungen,  die  das  Wort  gewohnheitsmassig  bei  uns  auslost ")  and 
"  Gefiihlswerth." 

298 


SEMANTIC   CHANGE 

importance  of  the  emotional  elements  in  words.  Some- 
times these  elements  form  only  an  undercurrent,  as  it 
were,  to  the  dominant  intellectual  elements,  but  some- 
times they  completely  dwarf  them,  and  the  character  of 
a  word  may  become  almost  wholly  emotional. 

There  are  three  possible  sources  of  these  emotional 
elements.  They  may  be  due  to  the  phonetic  character 
of  a  word  (sounds  or  intonation),  to  external  associa- 
tions, and  to  the  object  for  which  the  word  stands. 

A  sequence  of  speech-sounds,  like  a  sequence  of 
musical  notes,  may  produce  certain  emotional  states. 
"Nul  Frangais,"  says  Bourdon,1  "  n'he'siterait  a  trouver 
caressants  les  mots  comme  jaja^  zaza,  vava,"  though 
his  explanation  of  this  effect  ("  dans  lesquels  se  produit 
un  frolement  caressant  de  1'air  centre  la  langue,  le 
palais,  ou  les  levres  ")  is  hardly  adequate.  In  general, 
it  is  very  difficult  to  say  in  how  far  the  phonetic  charac- 
ter of  a  word  is  the  direct  source  of  its  emotional  quality. 
There  is  in  all  these  cases  the  possibility  of  indirect  asso- 
ciative influences.  So  that  the  caressing  effect  of  jaja 
may  possibly  not  be  due  directly  to  its  phonetic  charac- 
ter, but  to  the  fact  that  certain  associations  give  it  such 
an  emotional  flavor. 

The  emotional  effect  produced  by  external  associa- 
tions is  due  to  the  context  within  which  the  word 
is  habitually  used,  and  to  the  person  by  whom  it 
is  used.  Of  two  words  identical  in  their  intellectual 
elements  one  may  be  "poetical,"  the  other  "prosaic." 
"Aeschylus  and  Euripides  each  composed  the  same 
iambic  line,"  says  Aristotle  in  the  Poetics  (xxii.  7), 
"but  the  alteration  of  a  single  word  by  Euripides,  who 
employed  the  rarer  term  instead  of  the  ordinary  one, 
makes  one  verse  appear  beautiful  and  the  other  trivial. 

1  L'Expression  des  Emotions,  etc.  (1892),  p.  38. 
299 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

Aeschylus,  in  his  Philoctetes,  says :  <j>a<ye&atva  <S'>  77 
fjiov  trdpKas  ea-Otei  TroSo'?.  Euripides  substitutes  doivdrai, 
for  ea-diei.  Again  in  the  line  vvv  Be  //.'  evv  0X4709  re  KOI 
ovriSavbs  Kal  aeucijs  (Odyss.,  ix.  515)  the  difference  will 
be  felt  if  we  substitute  the  common  words  (/cvpia) :  vvv 
Se  fj,'  e<av  (Aitcpos  re  KCU  a&Oeviicbs  KOL  aeiS^f ;  or  if  for  the 
line  Sfypov  [T']  aeuceXiov  Kara0el<;  o\tyijv  re  rpdjre^av 
(Odyss.,  xx.  259)  we  read  Si<j>pov  fj,o%6r)pbv  Kara6e}$ 
fiiicpdv  re  rpdrce^av,  or  if  for  fyoves  fiodaxriv  (II.,  xvii. 
265)  we  substitute  Cloves  Kpdfrva-iv." 1  Now  in  all  these 
cases  there  is  nothing  inherent  in  the  words  which  makes 
them  either  poetical  or  prosaic.  A  logical  definition  of 
Qoivarai  and  ea-dtei  would  show  them  to  be  identical, 
and  the  metaphor  implying  a  personification  of  tyayeSaiva 
would  not  be  destroyed  by  the  use  of  the  latter.  Why, 
then,  does  their  stylistic  sphere  differ?  For  the  simple 
reason  that  the  former,  having  been  used  by  older  poets 
and  being  absent  from  the  colloquial  vocabulary,  suggests 
poetry ;  Ooivarai  has  become  poetical  because  it  had  been 
pre-empted  by  the  poets,  just  as  eadtei  was  prosaic  be- 
cause it  was  used  in  every-day  speech.  The  rarity  of  a 
word  is  only  a  secondary  consideration.  That  it  is  the 
context  which  determines  the  emotional  value  in  such 
cases  may  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  one  and  the  same 
word  may  have  at  one  time  an  elevated,  at  another  a  low 
meaning,  e.  g.,  the  German  Weib  is  either  poetical  or 
low,  according  to  its  setting,  and  is,  for  this  reason,  elimi- 
nated from  the  vocabulary  of  ordinary  colloquial  speech. 
The  following  quotation  from  Helene  Bohlau's 
Rathsmadelgeschichten 2  will  illustrate  how  the  emo- 
tional quality  of  the  object  is  transferred 3  to  the  word 

1  Butcher's  translation.  2  P.  230. 

8  Another  interesting  case  is  mentioned  by  Simmel,  Zt.  f.  Volkerpsych. 
tu  Sprachwiss.,  XX  (1890),  p.  28 :  Wieviel  mehr  der  Brautstand  der  weibli- 

300 


SEMANTIC   CHANGE 

and  continues  as  an  important  semantic  element  of  the 
latter.  Speaking  of  her  grandmother,  who  went  under 
the  pet  name  of  "Gomelchen,"  she  says:  "Der  Name 
Gomelchen  ist  der  alten  Frau  .  .  .  wie  eine  weiche 
Federflocke  angeflogen  und  an  ihr  haften  geblieben. 
Aus  Grossmama  wurde  Gomama,  aus  Gomama  Gomo, 
—  Gomelchen.  Von  den  Lippen  ihres  altesten  Enkel- 
kindes  hat  sie  ihn  zuerst  gehort,  es  .  .  .  war  Name  und 
Schmeichelname  zugleich.  .  .  .  Ich  bleibe  bei  dem  Namen 
und  meine  es  sei  genug  zu  sagen  und  immer  wieder  zu 
sagen,  dass  sie  Gomelchen  heisst,  —  und  vergesse  ganz, 
dass  dieser  Name  fur  andere  gar  keinen  Klang  hat,  und 
das  nicht  sagt,  was  er  mir  sagt.  Mir  selbst  ist  es,  wenn 
ich  ihn  mir  vorspreche,  als  glitte  eine  weiche  Welle  iiber 
mein  Herz  hin,  als  wiirde  es  behaglicher,  warmer  im 
Zimmer ;  einen  zarteu  Duf  t  von  Thee  und  schoner  Sahne 
und  Reseda  und  Hyacinthen  meine  ich  zu  spiiren,  einen 
Duft,  der  die  Seele  mit  Wehmuth  und  Erinnerung 
erfiillt."  In  this  case  the  word  has  evidently  lost  its 
intellectual  value  almost  completely,  and  similar  cases 
where  the  emotional  element  wholly  or  greatly  outweighs 
the  intellectual  contents  are  not  rare.  The  vituperative, 
libellous,  and  slanderous  force  of  many  oaths,  curses, 
and  similar  phrases  is  often  purely  emotional,  and  their 
logical  analysis  would  show  no  trace  of  such  meaning. 
But  apart  from  these,  many  words  in  common  use  are  of 
a  prevailingly  emotional  nature.  "And  then  Jack's 
nose  is  quite  as  good  in  its  way  as  Mr.  Cartwright's, " 
says  a  character  in  a  recent  novel;1  "of  course,  it  is  n't 

chen  als  der  mannlichen  Natur  adaequat  ist,  zeigt  sich  auch  personlich 
daran,  dass  das  Wort  "  Braut  "  uns  so  wundervoll  poetisch  und  ansprechend 
klingt,  wahrend  "  Brautigam  "  hasslich  und  in  feineren  Kreisen  fast  per- 
horresciert  ist. 

i  T.  Fowler,  The  Farringdons,  p.  385. 

301 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

clerical.  ...  I  should  call  it  an  '  unsectarian  '  nose.  I 
don't  know  exactly  what  '  unsectarian  '  means,  but  I 
think  it  is  something  rather  daring  and  wicked  and 
attractive."  In  a  similar  way  the  intellectual  content  of 
a  great  number  of  phrases  and  often  used  terms  is  for 
many  very  indistinct,  while  their  emotional  elements 
are  clear  and  forceful.  Such  terms  as  "patriotic," 
"socialistic,"  "anarchistic,"  "American"  and  "un- 
American,"  "Little  Englander,"  do  not  convey  any  defi- 
nite logical  meaning  to  many  people,  but  they  are  so 
highly  charged  with  emotional  elements  that  they  carry 
with  them  stronger  conviction  for  some  than  an  intel- 
lectual argument.  For  oratory,  the  fact  that  the  in- 
tellectual and  emotional  elements  are  so  closely  and 
inseparably  interlaced  is  of  great  advantage,  because  it 
permits  the  orator  to  sway  his  audience  by  a  skilful 
choice  of  words  affecting  their  emotions  ;  but  for  a  calm 
and  logical  discussion  it  is  of  the  greatest  disadvantage, 
because  the  merely  injudicious  choice  of  words  often 
prejudices  a  case  and  the  emotions  stirred  up  by  them 
rise  like  a  veil  between  the  object  and  the  observer. 
The  ethical  valuation  of  the  object  is  thus  predeter- 
mined by  the  name  applied  to  it,1  a  fact  which  popular 
philosophy  expresses  by  the  proverb:  Give  a  dog  a  bad 
name.  The  exact  opposite  is  the  attempt  to  raise  the 
ethical  status  of  a  doubtful  object  or  quality  by  the  ap- 
plication of  a  noble  term,  such  as  Thucydides  alludes  to 
(iii.  82.  4)  in  the  words  ical  rrjv  elcaOvlav  a^Lwcnv  rwv 
ovofAaTwv  e?  ra  epja  avrrjXka^av  rg  Si/caima-ei.  ro'X/ia  fj,ev 
yap  a\6yt(TTO<f  avSpia  <f>i\eraipo<;  evofjiia-dr),  ^eXXT/o-t?  Se 
SeiXia  evTrpejr^,  and  Lysias  (Contra  Era- 


1  With  a  slight  change  in  a  passage  of  Epictetus  (Encheir.,  ch.  v,  snbsti- 
tuting  \6yoi  for  S6yfj.ara),  one  might  say  :  rapdrrei  rovs  dvdpdirovs  ov  rck 
irpdyfjiara  a\\a  irepl  TWV  irpayfidrtov  \6yoi. 

302 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

tosth.,  §  78)  in  his  characterization  of  Theramenes,  TO> 
ovo^art  xpcbpevos  SeivoTctTcav  epjcov  8i8dcrKa\o<> 
In  a  similar  way  one  of  Lessing's  dramatic 
characters  complains  of  the  grossness  of  the  German 
expression  for  corriger  la  fortune.1  One  of  the  reasons 
why  a  strictly  logical  argument  is  so  difficult  to  present 
and  to  follow  out  is  that  it  requires  a  continual  effort 
to  dissociate  elements  which  in  the  everyday  use  of 
words  are  united. 

How  important  the  close  union  of  intellectual  and 
emotional  elements  in  words  is  for  stylistic  and  literary 
purposes  one  quotation  from  Doumic's  discussion2  of 
Loti's  style  may  suffice  to  show  :  "  We  are  sometimes 
tempted  to  believe  that  the  art  of  description  has  reached 
such  a  point,  thanks  to  the  efforts  of  the  picturesque 
writers,  that  there  is  no  further  progress  to  be  made. 
This  is  doubtless  true  so  far  as  rendering  the  exact  out- 
line of  objects,  their  coloring  and  relief,  is  concerned. 
In  this  respect  Loti  has  not  improved  on  his  predeces- 
sors. .  .  .  But  what  no  one  had  achieved  before  was  to 
make  visible  that  which  had  no  exact  outline,  no  form 
even,  no  definite  color,  but  was  made  up  of  uncertain 
harmonies  and  indefinite  shades.  [Such  as  the  de- 
scription of  a  night  in  equatorial  seas,  Mon  frere  Yves, 
p.  73 ;  or  the  description  of  the  light  in  Iceland,  where 
Loti  pictures  an  atmosphere  that  is  neither  night  nor 
day,  Pecheur  d'Islande,  p.  11.]  What  we  should  call 
this  is  a  marvellous  talent  for  evocation.  Loti  does 
not,  like  so  many  writers,  feel  any  necessity  for  tortur- 
ing the  language ;  he  uses  only  everyday  words.  But 
these  words  as  used  by  him  take  on  a  value  we  did  not 

1  Cf.  Erdmann,  die  Bedeutung  des  Wortes  (1900),  p.  120. 

2  Contemporary  French  Novelists   (English  trans,  by  Mary  Frost), 
p.  272  f. 

303 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

know  they  possessed ;  they  awaken  sensations  that  linger 
deeply  within  us."  These  last  words  undoubtedly  give 
the  real  source  of  the  peculiar  effect  of  Loti's  style. 
He  does  not  directly  describe,  but  he  pictures  indirectly 
by  suggesting  certain  emotional  states  through  a  skilful 
selection  and  arrangement  of  his  verbal  material,  and 
thus  dimly  placing  before  our  mind  the  memory  of  cer- 
tain sense-impressions  which  are  usually  combined  with 
such  emotional  states.  Quite  a  different,  comical 
and  grotesque  effect  can  be  produced  by  the  same 
means  when  words  are  used  with  an  intentional  disre- 
gard for  their  emotional  value.  A  great  deal  of  arti- 
ficial, secondary,  and  "  literary  "  slang  rests  upon  this 
device. 

The  emotional  element  greatly  influences  the  fate  of 
some  words.1  The  taboo  on  them  being,  curiously 
enough,  even  stricter  than  on  the  objects  which  they 
designate,  reverence  and  prudery  alike  constantly  tend 
to  deplete  the  vocabulary  by  proscribing  the  use  of  cer- 
tain words.  Their  places  are  filled  with  words  as  yet 
unhallowed-  (cf .  the  use  of  parabola  for  verbum,  which 

1  The  effect  of  taboo  on  the  lexicon  of  savage  tribes  deserves  further 
investigation.  Dobrizhoffer,  in  his  Historia  de  Abiponibus  (1784),  II, 
p.  199,  makes  the  following  interesting  remarks :  "  Novis  Abiponensem 
linguam  difficultatibus  implicat  mos  barbarorum  ridiculus  vocabula  uui- 
versae  Nation!  communia  antiquandi  identidem,  novaque  illis  substituendi. 
Ritus  funebris  istius  consvetudinis  sunt  origo.  Nolunt  Abipones  superesse 
quidpiam,  quod  vita  fnnctorum  memoriam  refricaret.  Hinc  vocabula 
appellativa,  quas  cum  mortuorum  nominibns  aliquam  referunt  affinitatem, 
mox  abolentur.  In  S.  Hieronymi  oppido  tabe  confectus  est  Abipon 
juvenis,  cui  nomen  Hana  fuit.  Eadem  vox  acum,  vel  spinam  significaverat 
id  temporis.  Sed  mox  a  morte  adolescentis  vox  Hana  abrogata  est,  illi- 
que  substituta :  Nichirencate.  Primis,  quos  Abipones  inter  egeram,  annis 
quotidiana  fuit  interrogatio :  Hegmalkam  Kahamdtek  ?  Quando  erit  bourn 
occisio  ?  Ast  ob  Abiponis  alicujus  obitum  vox  Kahamdtek  interdicta  est 
&  illius  loco :  Hegmalkam  n&gerkata  dicere,  praeconis  voce  jubebantur 
omnes." 

304 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

had  come  to  mean  verbum  domini)  or  untainted  (cf .  the 
use  of  the  general  term  mediator  for  the  particular  leno, 
or  of  the  litotes  infirmitas  for  morbus,  or  of  a  foreign 
term  like  courtesan,  German  Maitresse,  or  even  of  a 
noble  term  for  the  ignoble  object,  as  arnica  for  con- 
cubina).  In  these  cases  of  euphemism  the  new  term 
will  usually  share  the  fate  of  its  predecessor,  and  after 
a  certain  time  also  be  supplanted.  For  the  student 
of  the  history  of  civilization  considerable  interest  is 
attached  to  the  variations  of  the  emotional  element 
in  different  periods  and  among  different  nations. 
Schmidt1  has  called  attention  to  the  interesting  re- 
valuation ("  Umwerthung ")  of  the  Greek  raTreivo^ 
which,  from  being  a  term  of  contempt,  was  elevated  by 
Christian  ethics  to  that  of  a  virtue  without  change  of 
the  intellectual  contents.  The  use  of  "bug"  is  permis- 
sible in  America,  but  tabooed  in  England  (on  account 
of  the  restricted  sense  of  "bedbug "),  just  as  "hollisch  " 
passes  unchallenged  in  Germany,  while  its  equivalent 
in  English  would  be  highly  offensive. 
13  A  unification  of  the  heterogeneous  mass  described  in 
§  11  is  brought  about  by  subordinating  all  elements  to 
one  dominant  element.  The  contents  of  our  words  may 
be  likened  to  musical  tones  which  also  consist  of  a 
complex  of  simple  tones  in  definite  gradation  of  promi- 
nence and  the  pitch  of  which  is  determined  by  the 
dominant  partial.  That  the  relation  of  the  elements  to 
each  other  should  be  the  same  in  all  individuals  or  even 
in  the  same  individual  at  different  times  cannot  be 
expected.  The  importance  which  the  different  senses 
have  in  the  formation  of  percepts  differs  with  sufficient 
regularity  to  permit  the  establishment  of  definite  "  types 

1  Die  Griinde  d.  Bedeutungswandels  (Progr.  d.  kgl.  Realgymnas.  z. 
Berlin,  1894),  p.  12. 

20  305 


LECTURES   ON   THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

of  imagination,"  such  as  visual,  motory,  auditory.1  In 
the  same  manner  the  degree  of  prominence  of  all  other 
elements  of  a  percept,  idea,  or  concept  varies.  The 
psychical  contents  of  words  and  word-elements  are  there- 
fore not  stationary  but  by  their  very  nature  variable. 
As  far  as  we  can  now  observe,  a  name  is  connected  with 
the  object  named  by  a  bond  of  external  association  only. 
A  name  is  not  in  any  way  felt  to  be  descriptive  of  the 
object,  any  more  than  a  wardrobe  check  is  descriptive 
of  the  coat  for  which  it  calls.  . 

I  am  not  speaking  here  of  the  original  process  of 
naming.  This  is  a  separate  and  distinct  problem. 
Whether,  for  instance,  the  Indo-Europeans,  according 
to  current  theory,  gave  the  moon  its  name  because  it 
measured,  or  the  Italic  nations  called  the  earth  *tersa 
because  it  was  dry,  or  whether  the  process  was  exactly 
the  reverse,  is  of  no  importance  for  the  future  develop- 
ment of  these  words,  for  the  Greeks  did  not  feel  pijv  to 
mean  the  "measurer,"  nor  did  the  Romans  think  of 
terra  as  "the  dry  one."  It  may,  however,  be  noted  that 
the  current  theory  of  secondary  or  descriptive  naming 
of  objects  after  dominant  qualities  was  probably  by  no 
means  so  universal  as  is  often  supposed.  To  me  it 
would  seem  much  more  likely  that  a  sound  complex  first 
attached  itself  to  the  compound  percept  of  an  object, 
and  that  only  later  it  came  to  signify  also  a  prominent 
element  of  this  compound ;  so  that  the  Indo-European 
word  for  "horse  "  did  not  originally  mean  "swift  "  and 
was  then  used  for  the  "horse,"  but  that  it  originally 
meant  "horse,"  and  the  meaning  "swift  "was  a  later 
development,  the  quality  being  expressed  by  the  word 

1  See  a  good  historical  sketch  of  investigations  along  this  line  in  Lay's 
Mental  Imagery,  Psycholog.  Review,  Supplement,  vol.  II,  no.  3  (=  whole 
no.  7),  May,  1898,  p.  47. 

306 


SEMANTIC   CHANGE 

for  the  object  which  possessed  the  quality  in  a  marked 
degree.1 

However  this  may  be,  a  word  does  not  really  become 
a  symbol  for  an  idea  until  it  ceases  to  describe,  and  the 
link  between  sound  and  idea,  phonetic  form  and  psychi- 
cal content,  has  become  purely  external  and  mechani- 
cal, in  brief,  until  all  etymology  of  the  word  is  forgotten 
while  the  word  is  being  used.  This,  of  course,  does 
not  mean  that  reflection  may  not  bring  its  etymology  to 
light  again ;  often  the  untrained  and  naive  user  of  a  word 
may  discover  it;  but  in  doing  so  he  makes  the  word 
an  object  of  his  investigation,  while  in  the  employment 
of  words  in  actual  speech  attention  is  directed  to  their 
contents  alone,  not  to  the  connective  link  by  which 
form  and  meaning  are  joined. 

This  is  the  reason  why  etymology  is  the  weakest  and 
most  unreliable  staff  upon  which  the  lexicographer  can 
lean.  The  interpretation  and  definition  of  words  and 
phrases  form  a  large  part  of  jurisprudence,  and  our  law 
has  developed  a  valuable  canon  of  rules  for  interpretation 
of  ambiguous  words  and  phrases.2  Quite  properly  ety- 
mological assistance  is  almost  entirely  dispensed  with. 
Where  a  word  is  not  expressly  defined  by  the  framer  of 
the  statute,  i.  e.,  where  its  sphere  is  not  circumscribed 

1  Cf.  Stern,  Die  Analogic  im  volksthiimlichen  Denken  (1893),  p.  21 : 
"  Es  besteht  beim  naiven  Menschen  die  Neignng  in  Schilderungen  nicht 
die  einzelnen  Merkmale  des  zu  schildernden  Gegenstandes  aufzuzahlen, 
sondern  ihn  in  Analogic  mit  andren  Gegenstanden  zu  bringen,  mit  denen 
er  die  Merkmale  (i.e.,  a  dominant  element)  gemeinsam  hat.     So  sagte 
ein  kleiner  Franzose  .  .  . :    '  Entrez,  messieurs,  et  regardez  ce  monstre, 
il  a  une  tete  comme  une  citrouille,  des  cheveux  comme  des  carottes,  et  des 
doigts  comme  nne  araignee.' "     Cf.  also  the  change  of  proper  names  to  ap- 
pellatives, Wackernagel,  Germania,  V,  p.  317;  G.  Kriiger,  Eigennamen 
als  Gattungsnamen,  Programm  d.  kgl.  Realgymnas.  zu  Berlin,  1891 ;  0. 
Schultz,  Zt.  f.  roman.  Philol.,  XVIII  (1894),  p.  130. 

2  Cf.,  e.  g.,  American  and  English  Law  Encyclopedia,  XXIII  (1893), 
p.  296  f.  307 


LECTURES   ON  THE   STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

by  a  number  of  other  words,1  its  meaning  must  be 
gathered  from  the  context,  "noscitur  a  sociis,"  either  by 
confronting  all  the  passages  in  which  the  word  occurs  in 
a  variety  of  settings,  or  by  confronting  similarly  worded 
passages,  of  which  some  contain  the  dubious  word,  some 
a  better  known  synonym.  In  this  sense  Pischel  and 
Geldner2  have  argued  in  favor  of  a  "philological" 
as  against  a  "linguistic  "  method  in  lexicography.  The 
chief  defect  of  the  latter  method  lies  in  the  fact  that 
the  semantic  value  of  the  primitive  roots  is  no  more 
empirical  than  their  form,  if  anything  less  so.  For  it  is 
the  result  of  a  logical  operation  by  which  the  particular 
meanings  of  really  existing  words  have  been  so  fused 
that  their  common  elements  have  been  retained,  while 
the  elements  in  which  they  differed  have  been  discarded. 
By  a  summation  of  the  common  elements  of  a  number 
of  phonetically  related  words  the  "  root  meaning  "  is 
found,  much  in  the  same  way  in  which  we  form  general 
concepts  out  of  particular  percepts.  Hence  the  vague, 
general,  and  conceptual  meaning  of  these  "roots."3 

1  And  legal  interpretation  very  properly  distinguishes  between  con- 
temporary and  later  definitions.    "  Courts,  in  construing  or  interpreting  a 
statute,  give  much  weight  to  the  interpretation  put  upon  it  at  the  time  of 
its  enactment,  .  .  .  and  especially  is  this  true,  where  the  statute  is  an 
ancient  one.  .  .  .  But  further,  the  meaning  publicly  given  by  contemporary 
or  long  professional  usage  is  presumed  to  be  the  true  one,  even  where  ike 
language  has  etymologically  or  popularly  a  different  meaning.     Those  who 
lived  at  or  near  the  time  when  it  was  passed  would  naturally  be  supposed 
to  be  better  acquainted  than  their  descendants  with  .  .  .  the  sense  then  at- 
tached to  legislative  expressions,"  Americ.  and  Engl.  Encyclopaedia  of  Law, 
XXIII  (1893),  p.  339-340;   a  distinction  which  Oldenberg,  Zeitsch.   d. 
dent,  morgenl.  Ges.,  liv,  p.  599,  has  lately  emphasized  with  reference  to 
the  "  philological "  interpretation  of  the  Veda,  where  the  interval  of  time 
separating  the  commentators  from  the  rishis  has  sometimes  been  lost 
sight  of. 

2  In  their  Vedische  Studien  (1888  f.). 

8  Cf.  above  (p.  175)  the  quotation  from  Curtius  on  the  concrete  mean- 
ing of  early  roots. 

308 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

14  The  compound  percept,  as  we  saw  in  the  previous 
paragraph,  is  of  an  unstable  nature,  because  the  de- 
gree of  the  prominence  of  its  elements  is  not  fixed  and 
its  dominant  element  is  not  invariably  the  same.  With- 
out any  loss  or  gain  of  elements  a  percept  may  oscillate. 
But  these  phases  of  the  same  percept  usually  are  similar 
enough  to  be  denoted  by  the  same  symbol.  And  thus 
the  same  word  may  assume  various  meanings,  i.  e.,  be 
associated  with  a  number  of  rather  closely  associated 
percepts,  ideas,  or  concepts.  If  the  elements  of  a  syn- 
thetic percept  are  indicated  by  Greek  letters,  the  domi- 
nant element  by  a  capital,  and  the  parenthesis  indicates 
their  union  into  one  whole,  while  N  stands  for  the 
phonetic  symbol,  the  semantic  change  which  is  due  to 
this  oscillation  may  be  formulated  thus :  — 

(a/SFSe)  varies  with  (a 

% 


To  these  oscillations  are  due  the  "shades"  in  the 
meanings  of  words,  phrases,  or  construction.  The 
ending  -am  inferam,  for  instance,  expresses  a  psychical 
compound  which  is  composed  of  the  elements  of  futu- 
rity, probability,  desire,  etc.  Any  one  of  these  may,  in  a 
given  case,  be  the  dominant  element,  and  feram,  there- 
fore, may  be  the  "future"  or  the  "subjunctive."  To 
say  that  either  of  these  meanings  is  "  derived  "  from  the 
other  would  not  correctly  describe  the  mental  process. 
They  are  affiliated  because  of  the  identity  of  the  elements 
of  which  they  are  composed.  They  differ  because  of 

309 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

the  difference  in  the  dominant  element.  The  same  is 
true  of  the  two  meanings  of  German  "  Lust, "  namely, 
(1)  "pleasurable  feeling, "as  in  "Lust  an  etwas  haben" 
(cf.  Lustgefuhl,  lustig),  and  (2)  "desire,"  as  in  "Lust 
haben  zu  etwas  "  (cf .  Geltist).  For  pleasure  and  desire 
form  one  whole,  in  which  now  the  former  element  is 
stronger,  now  the  latter.  Similarly  in  the  English 
"fear"  the  elements  of  anticipation  and  dread  are  com- 
bined; of  these  the  latter  usually,  but  not  necessarily, 
predominates,  as  will  appear  from  the  following  anecdote 
related  by  R.  Harris : l  "In  a  case  of  murder  the  main 
evidence  against  the  accused  was  the  dying  declaration 
of  the  victim  which,  made  in  his  absence,  could  only  be 
given  in  evidence  after  proof  that  it  was  made  '  with 
full  consciousness  of  approaching  death.'  The  doctor 
was  thus  examined  by  the  prosecuting  Junior :  Q.  '  Did 
she  fear  death ?'  A.  'No.'  The  Junior  looked  at  his 
brief,  then  at  his  witness.  The  latter  was  perfectly 
cool  and  knew  well  enough  what  answer  was  required. 
There  was  no  motion,  however,  of  assistance.  The 
ingenious  young  counsel,  however,  repeated  the  ques- 
tion :  '  Did  she  fear  death  ? '  A.  '  O  dear,  no,  not  at  all. ' 
The  Judge:  'You  cannot  put  in  the  statement;  that 
will  do,  doctor.  And  you  cannot  find  a  verdict  of 
guilty,  gentlemen ;  it  must  be  manslaughter. ' '  Greek 
e\7r%eiv  is  a  parallel  case. 

Where,  however,  the   difference  produced  by  such 

variation  of  the  dominant  element  is  considered  of  suffi. 

cient  importance   it  receives   formal   expression.      So 

while  -am  in  feram  expresses  at  one  time  futurity,  at 

another  desire,  the  termination  of  the  second  and  third 

persons  distinguishes  formally  between  the  future  feres, 

feret,  and  the  subjunctive  /eras,  ferat.     In   the  same 

1  Hints  on  Advocacy  (9th  ed.),  1892,  p.  222. 

310 


SEMANTIC   CHANGE 

way  the  dominant  element,  viz.,  command,  in  the  fol- 
lowing subjunctives,  sis,  scribas,  advortas,  is  definitely 
fixed  by  the  addition  of  the  auxiliaries  fac,  v ide,  volo : 
Fac  fidelis  sis  fideli  (Plaut.  Capt.  439) ;  Add e  et  scribas 
vide  plane  et  probe  (Asin.  755) ;  Ergo  animum  advortas 
volo  (Capt.  383). 

In  sentences  the  dominant  element  is  usually  indicated 
either  by  position  or  by  accent  or  by  some  other  deictic 
device,  such  as  "z£  is  I  who  go,"  "as  for  me,  I  shall  go." 
But  inasmuch  as  position  and  accentuation  are  not 
absolutely  free,  the  dominant  element  must  sometimes 
remain  unexpressed.  This  is  also  often  the  case  where, 
owing  to  the  polysynthetic  character  of  the  formative 
elements  in  the  Indo-European  languages,  a  separation 
of  the  dominant  element  from  the  rest  is  not  possible, 
as  in  the  case  of  negative  sentences  like  "  Non  videbo, " 
where  the  negative  may  refer  to  the  tense  ("I  shall  not 
see,  because  I  have  already  seen"),  to  the  voice  ("In- 
stead of  seeing  myself,  I  am  seen"),  to  the  stem  ("  I  shall 
not  see,  but  I  may  hear  "),  or  to  the  person  ("  It  is  not 
I  who  shall  see,  but  some  one  else  "),  in  which  case  the 
emphatic  pronoun  might  be  represented  by  ego.1 

Here  may  find  a  place  those  cases  in  which  the  whole 
semantic  sphere  is,  as  it  were,  usurped  by  one  dominat- 
ing element,  while  all  subsidiary  elements  are  completely 
disregarded.  This  is  the  reason  why  a  term  may  be 
retained  for  an  object  or  action,  though,  in  the  course 
of  time,  both  may  have  changed  completely  except  for 
one  element.2  So  in  the  term  "fee,"  originally  equal  to 
cattle,  which  among  many  others  at  a  given  period  fre- 
quently contained  the  element  of  "means  of  payment," 

1  Stohr,  Algebra  d.  Grammatik,  p.  133. 

2  Examples  are  given  by  Schmidt,  Die  Griinde  des  Bedeutungswan- 
dels.  (Progr.  kgl.  Realgymn.  J.  Berlin),  p.  8  f. 

311 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

this  element  so  completely  dominated  that  the  term 
could  be  applied  to  any  kind  of  payment  (cf.  the  Latin 
pecu  and  pecunia);  the  same  is  true  of  phrases  like 
pendere  pecuniam  when  used  of  coined  money,  "  to  wind 
up  "  when  used  of  a  watch. 

The  following  diagram  illustrates  the  process : 


15  Whenever  adjacent  concepts  are  condensed  into  one, 
the  newly  created  concept  contains  a  larger  number  of 
elements  than  either  of  the  two  original  concepts,  and  its 
sphere  is  therefore  narrower.  This  fusion  of  concepts 
finds  its  linguistic  expression  in  two  ways,  namely,  (1) 
by  the  reduction,  and  (2)  by  the  complete  loss  of  one  of 
the  names  of  either  concept.  The  former  process  leads 
to  agglutinative  derivation,  i.  <?.,  a  modification  of  the 
phonetic  form  accompanies  the  change  in  meaning.  In 
the  latter  case  the  change  of  meaning  is  not  externally 
indicated.  It  is  this  latter  case,  where  one  name  absorbs 
the  significance  of  another  name,  which  concerns  us 
here.  Its  graphic  formula  would  be  as  follows: 


N 


First  stage 


Second  stage 


N 


312 


SEMANTIC   CHANGE 

In  this  manner  sermo,  "talk,"  absorbs  the  meaning  of 
religiosus  (in  the  phrase  "sermo  religiosus  ")  and  thus 
comes  to  mean  "sermon."  Dolus,  "smartness,"  ab- 
sorbs the  meaning  of  mains  (in  dolus  mains),  and  many 
voces  ambiguae  have  thus  definitely  settled  on  a  final 
meaning.  Whether  this  be  for  better  or  worse  is  a 
mere  question  of  chance.  Successus,  "consequence," 
through  successus  bonus,  has  been  turned  in  bonampartem, 
venenum,  "potion,"  in  malam  partem  through  venenum 
malum.  There  is,  of  course,  no  tendency  toward 
ennobling  or  degrading  of  words  in  language.1  The 
process  is  really  one  of  abbreviation,  comparable  to  the 
phonetic  abbreviation  2  by  which  'bus  stands  for  omni- 
bus, cab  for  cabriolet  This  process  of  abbreviation 
often  forms  the  second  step  when  by  composition 
or  juxtaposition  of  two  old  words  a  new  term  has 
been  created  for  a  new  object.  Among  the  various 
ways  in  which  such  want  of  a  name  may  be  supplied 
(such  as  the  adoption  of  foreign  words,  the  rare  coin- 
ing of  an  entirely  new  word,  or  the  modification  of 
an  old  word  by  the  addition  of  affixes)  the  compound- 
ing of  a  new  word  out  of  old  material  is  one  of  the  most 
frequent  devices.  So  the  German  "Feder"  ("feather," 
then  "goose-quill  ")  was  further  determined  by  "Stahl-" 
and  thus  furnished  the  name  for  the  newly  invented 
steel  pen  (cf.  also  terms  like  "Seehund,"  etc.).  Often, 
however,  these  compounds  are  again  simplified  so  that 
the  remaining  member  carries  the  meaning  of  the  whole 
compound.  This  abbreviation  is  most  common  when 

1  Bechstein,  Germania,  VIII  (1863),  p.  330,  first  alluded  to  such  a  ten- 
dency. The  real  reason  for  the  deterioration  of  word-material  is  "  euphe- 
mism." A  word  becoming  tainted  by  its  connection  with  an  "  unspeak- 
able "  object  is  supplanted  by  another  which  soon  shares  its  fate. 

8  Cf.  Nyrop,  Brakylogi,  in  Nordisk  Tidsskr.  f.  Filol.,  III.  R.,  VI  (1897), 
p.  45. 

313 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

the  compound  would  have  to  be  repeated  in  the  same 
context,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  following  quotations. 
Euripides'  (Bacch.,  1053-4) 

Xa^obi*  yap  fXdrrjs  ovpdviov  aKpov  K\d8ov 
narrjyfv,   rjyfv,  yyev  els  p,t\av  iredov 

is  a  typical  example  of  the  continuation  of  a  compound 
verb  by  the  simplex  which  is  common  in  the  tragedians 
and  of  which  Elmsley,  in  his  note  to  Medea,  1219, 
has  collected  many  cases.  The  Law  of  Gortyn  (I.  40) 
resumes  aTroSei/co-aro)  by  Set/cere;  the  commentator  of  the 
Atharva  Pratigakhya  (IV.  101)  refers  to  vedddhyayana 
by  veda.  Modern  examples  are  plentiful.  Sybel1 
writes:  "Er  (Napoleon)  Hess  sich  auf  Unterhandlung 
und  Waffenstillstand  ein."  Then,  after  a  passage  of 
forty-one  words,  he  continues :  "  Der  letzte  Terrain  des 
Stillstandes  war  der  10.  August."  W.  v.  Hillern,  in 
one  of  her  novels,2  has :  "  Das  Hochamt  begann ;  solch 
ein  Amt  war  nicht  gehalten  worden,  so  lange  man 
denken  konnte ; "  G.  Hauptmann,  in  his  play  College 
Crampton  (p.  29):  "Hat  mir  zu  schaffen  genug 
gemacht,  dieses  Dickkopfchen.  Nun  wollen  wir  es  aber 
doch  gleich  kriegen,  dieses  Kopfchen."  A  whole  series 
of  such  abbreviations  occurs  in  one  of  Mr.  Dunne's 
dialogues  (between  the  tailor  and  1'Aiglon): 3  " '  Wan  or 
two  hip  pockets  ? '  says  he  (the  tailor).  '  Two  hips, ' 
says  young  Napoleon.  .  .  .  '  Wan  or  two  inside 
pockets?'  says  the  tailor.  4  Two  in  sides.'  *  Hanker- 
chief  pocket  ? '  '  Wan  hankerchief . ' '  In  this  manner 
a  word  may  permanently  acquire  the  meaning  which 

1  Kleine  historische  Schriften,  I8  (1880),  p.  336. 

2  Hoher  als  die  Kirche,  chapter  v. 

»  Mr.  Dooley's  Philosophy  (1900),  p.  253. 

314 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

originally  belonged  to  the  compound  only,  as  Doric  tcacus  J 
that  of  /cacrfyvrjTos,  la  premiere  that  of  la  representation 
premiere,  "  Pfirsich  "  (=  persi cum)  that  of  malum  persi- 
cum(==  peach).  A  word  like  "canard"  carries  the  mean- 
ing of  a  whole  phrase  ("  vendre  &  quelqu'un  un  canard  a 
moitie"  "  [instead  of  a  whole  one]),  hence  the  abbreviated 
"  vendre  un  canard  "  =  "  to  cheat, "  and  "  canard  "  =  "  a 
lie."  How  thoroughly  the  individuality  of  the  separate 
words  has  been  lost  and  their  meanings  have  been  merged 
into  one  whole,  can  be  seen  in  those  cases  in  which  that 
element  which  was  originally  most  significant  is  later  lost. 
A  well-known  case  is  that  of  the  French  negatives  "pas  " 
and  "  point "  (Latin  "passum  "  and  "punctum  ")  which 
carry  the  meaning  of  the  phrases  ne  passum,  ne  punctum. 
It  is  clear  that  the  whole  phrase  must  have  been  felt  to 
be  negative  to  allow  a  loss  of  the  really  important  ne, 
just  as  the  whole  compound  "  flesh-meat "  (fidsc-mete), 
without  regard  to  its  elements,  must  have  been  felt  to 
mean  "  meat "  to  permit  the  loss  of  the  real  determinant 
"flesh."  The  psychological  process  is  first  juxtaposi- 
tion, then  synthesis  and  complete  fusion  of  the  contents 
of  the  two  words,  resulting  in  a  complete  loss  of  their 
semantic  individuality  and  finally  in  formal  abbreviation, 
because  a  single  term  is  sufficient  for  the  unified  com- 
pound idea. 

This  consolidation  of  the  originally  separate  contents 
of  two  words  sometimes  leads  to  a  redistribution  of  the 
elements  making  up  the  larger  compound  idea,  a  redis- 
tribution by  which   the  semantic  value  of  words  may 
undergo  considerable  change.     In  the  English   phrase 
"an  awful  crime,"  "awful  "  thus  acquires  the  force  of  a 
mere  intensifier,  a  role  in  which  it  appears  in  the  phrase 
"awfully  pretty,"  which,  logically  considered,  is  incon- 
1  Hoffmann,  Griech.  Dial.,  I,  p.  171. 
315 


LECTURES   ON   THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

gruous.     So  the  German  "  scheusslich  liebenswiirdig, " 
"hbllisch  verliebt."1 

Very  similar  to  this  is  the  influence  of  the  surround- 
ings by  which  Greek  el  or  the  archaic  German  so  gained 
their  hypothetical  meaning.  And  it  may  be  laid  down 
as  a  general  rule  that  the  significance  of  every  concrete 
case  form,  mode  form,  or  tense  form  depends  to  a  con- 
siderable degree  on  their  setting  and  on  the  meaning  of 
the  word  to  which  case,  mode,  or  tense  endings  have 
been  added.  So  that  it  is  really  incorrect  to  speak  of 
the  meaning  of  the  ablative  ending  (e.  g.,  -o)  or  of  the 
subjunctive  ending  (e.  g.,  -am),  as  if  all  the  meaning 
rested  upon  them.  We  ought  to  speak  of  the  meaning 
of  the  ablative  ending  -o  with  such  and  such  nouns,  and 
of  the  subjunctive  ending  -am  of  such  and  such  verbs. 
Even  the  person,  in  the  latter  case,  would  be  an  impor- 
tant semantic  element. 

16  Of  equal  importance  is  the  dissolution  of  percepts, 
i.  e.)  the  removal  of  one  or  more  elements  from  the  com- 
plex percept.  In  psychology  this  is  of  great  importance 
for  the  formation  of  concepts  and  general  ideas  which 
arise  from  a  fusion  of  many  percepts  and  particular 
ideas  accompanied  by  a  fading  of  the  dissimilar  elements, 
as  when  many  particular  trees  are  blended  into  the  con- 
cept "tree."  A  preliminary  step  to  this  is  the  forma- 
tion of  perceptual  judgments  by  which  qualities,  actions, 
and  things  are  first  definitely  separated,2  a  separation 
which  becomes  permanent  by  associating  each  abstrac- 
tion with  a  definite  phonetic  symbol.  Hence  the  im- 

1  For  the  English,  cf.  Stoffel,  Intensives  and  Downtoners  (1901,  vol.  I 
of  Anglistische  Forschungen,  hrsg.  v.  Hoops),  p.  119. 

2  Cf.  Jerusalem,  Urtheilsfunction  (1895),  p.  109  f.    Very  similarly  H. 
Eickert,  Zur  Lehre  von  der  Definition,  p.  44,  regards  "  Begriffe  als  Knoten- 
punkte  in  einem  Nttz  von   Urtheilen  (cf.   Gottinger   Gel.  Anz.  [1890],  I 
p.  53.) 

316 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

portance  of  language  for  conceptual  thinking,  which  has 
led  some  to  identify  the  two  and  disclaim  the  possi- 
bility of  any  thinking  without  language.1 

The  linguistic  process  of  dissociating  part  of  the  ele- 
ments of  a  complex  percept  is  to  supply  these  elements 
with  a  separate  name  ;  thus  the  meaning  of  the  original 
name  would  be  lightened  and  its  scope  enlarged,  as 
represented  in  the  following  diagram  : 


First  stage 

N 


Second  stage 
N, 

1  So  especially  Max  Miiller,  on  the  philological  side.  Brahmanical 
psychology  holds  the  same  theory,  cf.  £atap.  Brah.,  VIII,  1.  2.  7  :  "The 
mind  (mati),  indeed,  is  speech,  for  by  means  of  speech  this  whole  universe 
here  thinketh."  Perceptual  thinking  may  be  carried  on  without  words,  as 
is  seen  in  aphasic  patients.  A  game  of  football,  a  journey,  a  stage  pres- 
entation may  be  thought  over  without  linguistic  symbols  ;  the  memory  of 
the  direct  sense-impressions  is  sufficient.  But  all  thinking  which  lacks  the 
framework  of  direct  sense-impressions  (viz.,  abstract,  conceptual  think- 
ing) requires  the  vicarious  presence  of  acoustic  or  visual  or  tactile  sym- 
bols to  support  thought,  and  in  this  sense  Leibnitz'  "si  characteres 
abessent  nnnquam  quidquam  distincte  cogitaremus  neque  rationaremur  "  is 
true.  Prantl,  Geschichte  d.  Logik,  I,  p.  403,  credits  the  Epicureans  (  Sext. 
Empir.  adv.  mathem.,  VII,  195  ;  Diog.  Laert.,  X,  29)  with  having  been  the 
first  '  '  in  der  Wortbildung  die  zur  Entstehung  des  Begriffes  erforderliche 
Festigkeit  zu  erblicken."  Much  perceptual  thinking,  however,  is  now 
also  carried  on  in  words  rather  than  in  images,  by  a  kind  of  abbreviation  of 
associations  (cf.  Stanley,  Language  and  Image,  Psych.  Rev.,  IV  (1897), 
p.  67  ;  Zt.  f.  Psych,  u.  Physiol.  d.  Sinnesorgane,  XVII,  p.  302).  Cf.  on 
the  whole  question  :  Pershing,  The  Disorders  of  Speech  in  Twentieth 
Century  Practice  of  Medicine,  X  (1897),  p.  769;  Stout,  Thought  and 

317 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

It  would  seem  that  in  order  to  break  up  a  compound 
percept  in  this  manner  it  is  necessary  that  the  members 
which  are  finally  dissociated  shall  have  gained  a  promi- 
nence which  interferes  with  the  unity  of  the  original 
percept.  This  unity,  we  saw,  presupposes  that  one  ele- 
ment shall  be  dominant,  all  the  rest  subordinate.  As 
soon,  therefore,  as  a  second  element  becomes  unduly 
prominent  the  unity  is  disturbed,  as  the  phonetic  unity 
of  a  compound  would  be  broken,  if  two  equally  strong 
accents  were  to  fall  on  both  members  (cf .  "  black  bird  " 
and  "  black-bird  ").  Syntactically  this  process  of  analy- 
sis can  be  easily  illustrated.  In  the  so-called  inflected 
forms,  amavi,  patri^  horto,  the  single  phonetic  form 
stands  for  a  unified  idea  in  which  the  action  or  thing 
plays  the  dominant  role,  while  person  and  case  relation, 
as  subordinate  parts  of  this  whole,  are  expressed  by 
simple  modifications  of  the  name  which  symbolizes  the 
dominant  element.  In  passing  from  the  Latin  to  the 
Romance  languages  these  modifications  gave  way  to 
independent  names.  It  is  sometimes  supposed  that  the 
phonetic  decay,  the  obliteration  of  the  distinctive  forms 
of  the  endings,  was  the  cause  which  led  to  this.  It 
may,  however,  be  submitted  that  this  phonetic  decay  of 
case  endings,  far  from  being  the  cause  of  the  analyt- 
ical structure  of  the  Romance  declension  and  conjuga- 
tion, was  rather  its  result.  The  relations  which  these 
endings  indicated  first  became  mentally  so  prominent 
that  the  unity  of  the  old  percept  was  broken.  Their 
mental  independence  was  followed  on  the  linguistic  side 
by  providing  them  with  a  separate  name  (e.  g.,  the 

Language,  in  Mind,  XVI  (1891),  p.  181  ;  Wundt,  Die  Sprache  und  das 
Denken,  in  his  Essays  (1885),  p.  244;  and  especially  Erdmann,  "Die 
psychol.  Grundlagen  der  Beziehung  zwischen  Sprechen  und  Denken,"  in 
Archiv  f.  systematische  Philosophic,  II  (1896),  p.  355;  III  (1897),  p.  31, 
150. 

318 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

preposition  de  or  ad),  and  finally,  the  inflected  part  of 
the  forms  patri,  patris,  patrem  ceased  to  resist  phonetic 
decay.1  By  a  similar  process  of  emptying,  particular 
verbs  and  nouns  must  have  been  converted  into  general 
ones.  It  is  generally  agreed  that  the  development  of 
general  ideas  is  a  later  step,  and  that  conceptual  think- 
ing marks  an  advancing  civilization.  "Their  real 
poverty,"  says  v.  d.  Steinen  describing  the  Bakairi 
Indians  of  South  America,  "consists  in  the  absence  of 
general  terms,  as  is  the  case  with  all  uncivilized  tribes. 
.  .  .  Every  parrot  has  its  individual  name,  but  there  is 
no  general  term  for  '  parrot. '  Similarly  a  general  term 
for  '  palm-tree  '  is  wanting.  They  intimately  know, 
however,  the  peculiarities  of  every  kind  of  parrot  or 
palm,  and  to  this  mass  of  details  they  cling,  so  that 
they  cannot  rise  to  a  general  notion.  .  .  .  They  are 
stifled  by  the  mass  of  material  which  they  are  unable  to 
handle  economically."  2  It  is  not  dulness  of  perception, 
then,  which  delays  the  formation  of  general  terms,  but 
the  very  reverse.  The  vividness  with  which  the  differ- 
ent qualities  of  an  individuum  force  themselves  upon  the 
mind  prevents  their  subsuming  a  number  of  individua 
under  one  generic  name.  Vierkandt 3  contrasts  the  pas- 
sive receptivity  of  the  uncivilized  with  the  productive 
activity  of  the  civilized  mind:  "The  uncivilized  mind 
is  passive  toward  the  impressions  which  assail  it  from 
without,  it  offers  no  resistance,  as  it  were.  ...  The 
uncivilized  consciousness  is  ...  like  a  mirror,  which 
simply  reflects  external  impressions  without  materially 

1  See  on  this  substitution  of  analytic  for  synthetic  structure  the  note 
to  p.  289. 

2  Unter  den  Natnrvolkern  Zentral-Brasiliens  (1894),  p.  81.     Similarly 
in  the  Verhandlnngen  d.  VHIten  deutschen   Geographentages  (1887), 
p.  22  f. 

8  Naturrolker  und  Kulturvolker,  p.  230  f. 
319 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY    OF  LANGUAGE 

shaping  or  changing  them.  The  psychical  life  of  prim- 
itive man  is  therefore  characterized  by  the  almost  pho- 
tographic faithfulness  with  which  he  preserves  and 
reproduces  impressions  from  without,  and  his  efficiency 
in  this  respect  far  surpasses  that  of  civilized  minds. 
For  these  sense  impressions  are  simply  the  raw  material 
which  active  apperception  moulds  and  transforms  into 
concepts.  The  perceptual  material  becomes  a  means 
toward  an  end,  and  the  full  energy  of  mental  activity 
turns  toward  conceptual  thinking.  This  explains  why 
the  mind  of  civilized  nations  excels  in  productive  activ- 
ity, while,  at  the  same  time,  they  are  surpassed  by 
uncivilized  nations  in  passive  receptivity.  ...  In  fact 
the  uncivilized  mind  is  incapable  of  true  abstraction, 
which  implies  a  step  beyond  mere  receptivity,  .  .  .  and 
it  is  likewise  incapable  of  comprehending  many  particu- 
lar impressions  under  one  general  aspect  or  of  fusing 
them  into  one  whole,  though  such  unification  may  not  be 
purely  conceptual  but  suggested  by  the  percepts  them- 
selves. "  If  this  be  true,  many  primitive  "  roots  "  must 
have  had  a  particular,  not  a  general,  meaning.1  For 
such  a  conversion  of  particular  into  general  terms,  of 
course,  no  actual  examples  can  be  given,  because  in  the 
very  earliest  literary  remains  that  process  has  long  been 
completed,  and  the  preliterary  phrases  in  which  it  took 
place  are  gone  forever.  It  is  possible  only  to  construct 
illustrative  examples.  Suppose  that  monstrare  had  at 
an  early  time  the  meaning  "  to  point  out  with  the  finger. " 
Suppose,  further,  that  the  element  "  with  the  finger  " 
gained  sufficient  prominence  to  demand  independent 

1  This  highly  concrete  and  particular  meaning  of  primitive  roots  was 
alluded  to  by  Curtiua,  Griech.  Etymol.  (1858),  p.  77,  §  13  ;  cf.  also  Abel, 
Sprachwissenschaftliche  Abhand.  (1885),  p.  25.  On  it  Curtius  rested  his 
explanation  of  composite  inflection,  see  above  p.  174. 

320 


linguistic  expression,  thus :  digito  monstrare.  It  is  clear 
that  the  meaning  of  monstrare  has  thus  been  lightened 
to  that  extent  and  has  become  more  general  ("  to  point 
out "),  exactly  as  the  addition  of  de,  in,  ab  lightened  the 
significance  of  horto  by  assuming J  part  of  it.  In  the 
phrase  digito  monstrare,  then,  monstrare  no  longer  means 
"to  point  with  the  finger,"  but  simply  "to  point," 
and  this  second  meaning  may  become  so  closely  united 
with  it  that,  even  where  digito  is  wanting,  the  general 
meaning  is  retained.  It  is  not  impossible  to  imagine 
that  the  common  use  of  a  phrase  like  "  frequently  re- 
peated "  may  end  in  divesting  "  repeat "  of  its  compound 
meaning  of  "say  often"  and  reduce  it  to  a  general 
term  "  say. "  So  (pre-)hendo  (^avBavw)  may  have  origi- 
nally meant  to  "seize  with  the  hand,"  but  being  partly 
emptied  of  its  meaning  in  phrases  like  (pre-)hendo  manu, 
it  assumed  a  more  general  significance.  The  Greek 
series  SeiWu/u  ("  to  point  out  with  the  finger  "),  Seitcvvfu 
SaKTvXw  ("  to  point  out "  -f-  "  with  the  finger  "),  Sei/cvv/u 
("to  point  out")  may  be  a  case  like  monstrare.  The 
Latin  dicere  (originally  *  to  point  out),  which,  absorbing 
the  meaning  of  the  second  member  of  the  phrase  dicere 
verbis  ("  to  point  out  with  words  "),  came  to  signify  "  to 
say,"  would  exemplify  the  opposite,  synthetic  develop- 
ment, discussed  in  a  previous  section.  It  is  worth  noting 
that  when  a  number  of  such  concrete  words  assume  a 
more  general  meaning,  words  which  have  heretofore 
been  of  similar  meaning  now  become  completely 
synonymous.  And  since  complete  synonyms  do  not 
continue  to  exist  side  by  side  in  a  language,  the  subse- 
quent development  must  have  proceeded  along  one  of 
the  three  following  lines :  either  the  superfluous  synonyms 

1  In  the  same  way  an  added  form  of   velle  may  assume  part  of  the 
meaning  of  the  optative  facias. 

21  321 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

were  lost,  or  they  were  put  to  new  uses,  or  the 
synonyms  were  fused  in  one  conjugational  or  declen- 
sional system,  a  process  by  which  they  were  at  least 
partially  saved. 

Whether  this  theory  can  be  rightly  and  unreservedly 
maintained  for  the  significance  of  all  primitive  roots  is, 
however,  subject  to  doubt.  Not  the  correctness  of  the 
theory  itself,  but  the  scope  of  its  application  demands 
further  investigation.  Freudenthal,1  in  his  reply  to 
Gutzmann  at  the  third  International  Congress  of  Psy- 
chologists, urged  that  while  it  is  true  that  the  child,  like 
the  savage,  begins  with  individual  percepts  and  does 
not  use  collective  names  until  later,  it  must  not  be  for- 
gotten that  indistinct  general  notions  mark  the  very 
beginning  of  psychical  life.2  "A  child  calls  any  person 
at  all  similar  to  his  father  '  papa. '  Savages,  the  uned- 
ucated European,  children,  distinguish  between  but  a 
few  kinds  of  flowers.  Only  with  an  increasing  power 
of  discrimination  is  a  distinction  between  different  indi- 
viduals and  species  made.  The  process  of  individualiz- 
ing runs  parallel  with  the  process  of  generalizing."  It 
would,  therefore,  probably  be  safer  to  say  that  the 
vocabulary  of  the  savage  consists,  on  the  one  hand, 
of  very  concrete  and  particular  terms,  the  fusion 
of  which  leads  to  real  conceptual  thinking.  On  the 
other  hand,  his  vocabulary  contains  words  which 
stand  for  indistinct  notions,  which  only  by  an  in- 
crease of  precision  are  elevated  to  the  rank  of  par- 
ticular concepts.  Interest  and  consequent  attention 
determine  to  which  of  these  two  classes  a  name  may 
belong.  Parrots,  being  an  object  of  considerable  inter- 

1  Cf.  the  quotations  in  Ament's  Die  Entwicklung  v.  Sprechen  u.  Den- 
ken  beim  Kinde  (1899),  p.  149. 

2  Cf.  Komanes'"  recepts  "  in  his  Mental  Evolution  in  Man  (1889),  p.  40  f. 

322 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

est  to  the  Bakairi  Indians,  were  not  comprehended  in  a 
class,  but  each  one  had  its  particular  concrete  name. 
The  same  reason  accounts  for  the  elaborate  system  of 
names  to  designate  the  various  forms  and  degrees  of 
relationship.  On  the  other  hand,  a  division  of  a 
thunderstorm  was  not  attempted,  yelo  meaning  both 
"  thunder  "  and  " lightning,"  and  k%opd\  " rain,"  "  thun- 
derstorm, "  and  "  cloud ;  "  "  the  cloud  in  the  sky, "  says 
v.  d.  Steinen,  "has  an  interest  for  them  in  so  far  only 
as  it  means  an  approaching  thunderstorm. " 

A  similar  lack  of  precision  can  be  noted  long  after 
general  terms  and  conceptual  thinking  have  been  de- 
veloped, and  the  former  have  been  firmly  fixed  in  lan- 
guage. Colloquial  and  vulgar  speech  offers  many 
examples  where  a  very  comprehensive  general  term  is 
used  instead  of  a  more  definite  and  particular  one.  Often 
the  particular  shade  of  the  general  term  is  indicated 
with  sufficient  distinctness  by  the  context,  as  "  he  says 
[=  begs]  that  you  should  write  him, "  or  it  is  already 
indicated  by  a  special  term,  as  "he  says  in  his  letter 
[=  writes]  that  he  won't  come ; "  but  often  neither  is  the 
case,  and  many  instances  show  a  mere  lack  of  discrimina- 
tion ;  not  a  fusion  of  particular  percepts  into  one  general 
idea,  but  a  failure  to  rise  to  a  particular  percept,  an  in- 
definiteness  which  prevents  the  speaker  from  making  use 
of  definite  terms,  although  his  language  provides  them. 

In  this  way  the  great  mass  of  synonyms  which  is 
accumulated  in  the  literary  language  is  reduced  in  the 
working  vocabulary  of  everyday  life,  a  simplification 
noted  by  G.  Paris1  for  the  Low  Latin  (in  which  lellus 
takes  the  place  of  the  more  finely  distinguishing  High 
Latin  pulcher,  decorus,  specioms,  formosus,  venuatus, 
lepidus),  and  by  Schiepek  (1899),  in  his  excellent 

1  Journal  des  Savants  (1887),  p.  74. 
323 


LECTURES   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

Syntax  der  Egerlander  Mundart l  (where  "  sein  "  stands 
for  "  ruhen, "  "  ragen, "  "  sich  erheben ;  "  "  sagen  "  for 
"  mittheilen, "  "erwahnen,"  "wiinschen,"  "bitten," 
"ermahnen,"  "f  ragen";  "thun"  and  "machen"  for 
"arbeiten,"  "sich  benehmen,"  "spielen"). 

17  There  now  remain  two  classes  of  semantic  change: 
the  first  is  composed  of  those  changes  which  are  due  to 
associative  interference,  the  second  class  comprises  the 
great  mass  of  those  changes  of  signification  which  are 
due  to  the  transfer  of  the  name  of  one  object  to  another. 
Instances  belonging  to  the  former  class  have  been  given 
under    the  general  head   of    associative    interference. 
They  fall  naturally  into  two  large  groups :  (1)  those  in 
which  the  associative   link  is  purely  formal,  as   when 
homophones  influence  each  other  semantically,2  and  (2) 
those  cases  in  which  the  associative  bond  is  semantic. 
In  the  latter  case  two  words  having  some  elements  in 
common  tend  to  extend  their  sphere  of  similarity.     This 
is  notably  the  case  in  speech  mixture,  as   when3   the 
Slavic  sramota,  which  covers  the  semantic  area  jointly 
occupied  by  the   two   German    words   "  Scham "   and 
"  Schande, "  interferes  with  the  restricted  meaning  of  the 
latter  and  uses  it  for  "  Scham  "  in  a  phrase  like  "  Habt 
ihr  keine  Scheu  und  Schande."     Phrases  and  construc- 
tions are  similarly  treated.4 

18  Whenever  the  name  of  one  idea  or  concept  is  used  to 
denote   another  independent  idea  or  concept,  we   call 

1  P.  115  f. 

2  The  English  "  afford  "  has  thus  in  the  Anglo-German  of  New  Eng- 
land infected  the  German  "  erfordern  "  with  its  meaning  (e.  g.,  "  Ich  kann 
es  nicht  erfordern  "). 

3  Schuchardt,  Slavodeutsches  und  Slavoitalienisches  (1885),  p.  95  f. 

*  Cf.  the  convenient  summary  of  Windisch,  Theorie  der  Mischspra- 
chen  und  Lehnworter,  in  Sitz.  Berichte  d.  kgl.  sachs.  Gesell.  d.  Wiss., 
XXXXIX,  p.  101  f.,  and  Paul's  Principien,8  p.  376,  §  283. 

324 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

it  transfer.  The  necessary  condition  for  all  transfer  is 
the  associative  connection  of  the  two  ideas,  hence  there 
must  be  some  semantic  point  of  contact  between  them. 
The  following  diagram  illustrates  this  last  and  perhaps 
most  frequent  method  of  semantic  change :  — 

First  concept.  Second  concept. 


associatively  connected 
by  the  element  e 

transferred 

N »N 

The  second  idea  or  concept  which  by  associative 
connection  is  thus  provided  with  a  name  may  be  en- 
tirely new  and  therefore  stand  in  need  of  a  term,  a  con- 
tingency which  must  inevitably  arise  in  the  progress  and 
change  of  civilization.  Or  again,  the  second  idea  may 
have  lost  its  name  because  the  sphere  of  the  latter  has 
been  changed  by  contraction  or  expansion,  or  because  its 
use  has  been  proscribed  by  reverence  or  prudery,  or  be- 
cause phonetic  or  stylistic  considerations l  have  made  a 
new  term  desirable.  And,  finally,  there  may  be  no 
actual  need  at  all  for  a  new  term,  but  the  closeness  of 
association  may  be  great  enough  to  produce  the  transfer 
of  the  name  of  one  object  to  another ;  and  possibly  such  a 
transfer  may  be  at  first  occasional,  but  later  it  may  enter 
into  serious  competition  with  the  older  term  and  end  by 
taking  its  place.  To  classify  the  innumerable  cases  of 

1  E.  g.,  the  eff  acement  of  the  stem-character,  irregularity,  or  ambiguity. 
It  is  clear  that  if  a  person  has  been  misunderstood  a  number  of  times,  he 
will  avoid  thereafter  the  use  of  the  term  which  led  to  the  misunder- 
standing. 

325 


LECTURES  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

such  transfers  would  mean  to  draw  up  a  catalogue  of  all 
possible  associative  links  by  which  two  ideas  or  concepts 
can  be  united,  for  any  temporal,  local,  or  causal  connec- 
tion between  two  ideas  may  lead  to  labelling  them  with 
the  same  word-symbol,  a  process  which  Darmesteter 
and  the  French  semanticists  call  rayonnement,1  because 
the  new  meanings  group  themselves  around  the  central 
word.  Similes  form  the  initial  step  to  such  transfers, 
which,  as  long  as  they  are  due  to  the  play  of  the  indi- 
vidual's associative  fancy,  are  called  metaphors  (cf.  the 
transition  from  the  simile  "  He  is  like  a  lion  in  battle  "  to 
the  metaphor  "  He  is  a  lion  in  battle  "),  but  when  they 
have  gained  universal  acceptance  and  use,  the  feeling  of 
the  metaphor  gradually  fades  and  finally  disappears. 
In  this  manner  the  vocabularies  of  all  languages  are 
filled  with  faded  metaphors.2 

Two  cases  deserve  special  notice.  First,  the  use  of 
concrete,  sensuous  terms  for  abstract,  supra-sensuous 
ideas,  such  as  fingere  ("  knead, "  then  "  compose  "),  com- 
prehendere,  like  German  "begreifen,"  the  causal  e7r-ei 
(first  temporal  "post  hoc,"  then  causal  "propter  hoc  "). 
Here  belong  also  the  many  terms  expressing  feelings 
or  emotions  which  originally  referred  to  some  physical 
symptom  through  which  the  particular  emotional  state 
betrayed  itself,  such  as  horror,  <£d/3o?  ("flight,"  then 
"fright");  and  similarly  Bechtel3  showed  that  the 

1  Similar  is  the  old  scholastic  doctrine  of   viroQiffeis  =  suppositionea 
(cf.  Prantl,  Gesch.  d.  Logik,  Indexes,  s.  v.),  to  which  Erdmann,  Die  Be- 
deutung  des  Wortes  (1900),  p.  39,  has  lately  called  renewed  attention. 

2  Cf.  especially  Biese's  Die  Philosophic  des  Metaphorischen  (1893); 
also    Thomas'   Zur   historischen   Entwicklung    der   Metapher   im    Grie- 
chischen  (Erlangen  Dissertation,  1891) ;  Wundt,  Volkerpsychologie,  Die 
Sprache,  II,  p.  509  ff. 

8  Tiber  die  Bezeichnung  der  sinnlichen  Wahrnehmung  in  den  indo- 
germanischen  Sprachen  (1879),  p.  ix:  "Die  Wahrnehmuugeu  durch  die 

326 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

words  for  sense  perception  in  the  Indo-European  have 
only  secondarily  acquired  this  meaning,  while  primarily 
they  designate  the  activity  by  which  we  perceive  or  the 
object  which  we  perceive  (e.  g^  "feel"  is  connected 
with  hand,  Tra\dp.rf). 

The  second  class  of  metaphors  which  ought  to  receive 
an  exhaustive  treatment  is  the  transfer  of  terms  from  one 
sense  sphere  to  another.  These  rest  upon  what  James 
calls  "  the  principle  of  analogous  feeling  stimuli, "  1  and 
are  illustrated  by  phrases  like  "a  sharp  tone,"  "loud 
colors,"  "a  high  note."  The  phenomenon  of  synaesthe- 
sia  has  received  rather  full  treatment  at  the  hand  of 
psychologists,2  but  its  reflection  in  language  has  not  yet 

fiinf  Sinne,  werden,  falls  ihre  Bezeichnung  nicht  Verengung  ist  der 
Bezeichnnng  fiir  die  Wahrnehmung,  allgemein  sprachlich  in  der  Weise 
zum  Ausdruck  gebracht,  dass  von  der  Perception  als  solcher  vollig 
abgesehen,  nnd  statt  ihrer  die  Thatigkeit  genannt  wird,  auf  welche  die 
Perception  erfolgt  oder  welche  Gegenstand  der  Perception  ist."  Klein- 
paul,  Sprache  ohne  Worte  (1888),  p.  185. 

1  Similarly  Wundt,  Volkerpsychologie,  Die  Sprache,  II,  p.  512  :  "  Die 
Bedingongen  zn  solchen  [tibertragttngen]   liegen  aber  iiberall  darin,  dass 
gewisse  an  sich  disparate   Sinnesqualitaten  iibereinstimmende  Gefiihle 
wachrufen,  so  dass  in  Folge  der  ausserdem  stattfindenden  engen  Gebnn- 
denheit  des  Gefiihlstones  an  die  Empfindung  die  Sinneseindriicke  selber 
als  verwandte  empfunden  werden.  .  .  ." 

2  Cf.  K.  Hennig,  "  Entstehung  nnd  Bedentung  der  Synopsien,"  in  Zt. 
f.  Psych,  u.  Phys.  d.  Sinnesorgane,  X  (1896),  p.  183 ;  Flournoy,  Les  phe- 
nomenes  de  Synopsie  (1893)  ;   Bleuler   nnd  Lehmann,   Zwangsmassige 
Lichtempfindnngen  durch  Schall  nnd  verwandte  Erscheinungen  (1881); 
Krohn,  Psendo-Chromaesthesia  in  Americ.  Journal  of  Psychol.,  V  (1893), 
p.  20;   S.  de  Mendoza,  L' Audition  Coloree  (1892);   Hilbert  "  Ein  Fall 
von  Geschmacksphotismen  "  in  Klinische  Monatsblatter  f.  Augenheilkunde, 
XXXV  (1897),  p.  271 ; "  Die  sogenannten  Doppelempfindungen  "  in  Natur- 
wissenschaft.  Wochenschrift,  IX,  no.  19 ;  "Zur  Kenntniss  der  sogenanuten 
Doppelerapfindnngen "  in  Archiv  f.  Angenheilknnde,  XXXI  (1),  p.  44; 
Die  Pathologie    des    Farbensinnes    (1897) ;  Eberson,  "Tiber  colorirten 
Geschmack  "  in  Wiener  medicin.  Presse  (1897),  no.  49 ;  Schenkl,  "Ca- 
snistischer  Beitrag  znr  Association  der  Worte  mit  Farben"  in  Prager 
med.  Wochenschrift  (1881),  no.  48;  "  Uber  die  Association  von  Worten 

327 


LECTURES   ON  THE   STUDY  OF  LANGUAGE 

received  adequate  treatment  by  lexicographers.1  Such 
an  investigation  would  have  to  contrast  the  cases  of 
individual  synaesthesia  with  those  which  have  gained 
social  currency,  and  to  trace  the  transitions  from  the 
former  to  the  latter  class ;  on  the  other  hand  a  compari- 
son of  various  related  and  unrelated  languages  with 
reference  to  their  similarities  and  differences  might  also 
yield  interesting  results.  It  would  necessarily  pass 
from  the  strictly  lexicographical  sphere  into  that  of 
literary  style,  and  embrace  the  attempts  at  word-paint- 
ing and  sound-symbolism.2 

19  Two  points  must  finally  be  noted.  In  the  first  place, 
in  the  actual  development  of  many  words  the  different 
forms  of  semantic  change  outlined  in  the  preceding 
sections  will  be  found  combined.  Successive  changes 
of  the  dominating  element,  gains  of  some  elements, 
losses  of  others,  associative  interferences,  and  finally 
transfers  may  remove  the  last  meaning  of  a  word  far 

mit  Farben"  in  the  same  periodical  (1883),  no.  10;  Macdougal,  Psychol. 
Review,  V,  p.  467  ;  K.  Deffner,  in  Zt.  f.  Psychol.  u.  Physiol.  d.  Sinnesor- 
gane,  XVIII,  p.  239.  Cf.  also  Heller's  discussion  of  the  "  Surrogatvor- 
gtellungen  "  of  the  blind  in  his  Studien  zur  Blinden-Psychologie,  Wundt's 
Philosoph.  Stud.,  XI,  p.  226,  406,  531  ;  and  E.  Hanslick,  Vom  Musika- 
lisch-Schonen  (9th  ed.,  1896),  p.  53  f.  "  Wie  es  physiologisch  ein  Vicarieren 
eines  Sinnes  fur  den  anderen  bis  zu  einer  gewissen  Grenze  giebt,  so  auch 
aesthetisch  ein  gewisses  Vicarieren  eines  Sinneseindruckes  fiir  den  an- 
dern,  etc." 

1  Cf .  Paul,  Principien,8  p.  88,  §  69 ;  Bourdon,  L'Expression  des  Emo- 
tions, etc.,  p.  28,  30  ff. 

2  Cf .  Schuchardt,  Zt.  f .  roman.  Philol.,  XXI,  199 ;  Jodl,  Lehrb.  d.  Psych., 
p.  310,  quotes  Rene'  Ghil's  Traite  de  Verbe,  and  Zeising's  Aesthet.  For- 
echungen  (1855),  §  441 ;  Bourdon,  L'Expression  des  Emotions,  etc.,  p.  87- 
91  (with  references  to  Guyau,  L'Art  au  point  de  vue  sociologique,  p.  316 ; 
B.  de  Fonquieres,  Traite  de  versification  francaise,  p.  226  f.,  262 ;  Traite 
de  diction,  p.  174;  and  others) ;  Hermann  Bahr,  Renaissance  (1897),  p.  59  f., 
contains  further  literature.  —  On  the  French  symbolists  see  J.  Lemaitre, 
Contemporains,  IV  (1893),  p.  60;  F.  Brunetiere  in  Rev.  d.  Deux  Mondes, 
1888,  November  1 ;  Lanson,  Histoire  de  la  Lit.  Fran9>,  p.  1092. 

328 


SEMANTIC  CHANGE 

from  the  original  signification,  so  far  indeed  that  the  two 
extremes  may  represent  practically  contrasting  ideas,  as 
in  the  Italian  vezzoso,  "charming,"  from  Latin  vitiosus, 
"  vicious, "  or  the  German  schlecht,  "  bad, "  from  schlecht 
(now  schlicht),  "  simple, "  "  straight. "  1 

Again,  since  words  and  phrases  do  not  stand  isolated 
in  a  language,  any  change  in  the  meaning  of  one  word 
frequently  disturbs  other  words  which  are  in  some  way 
connected  with  it,  either  by  encroaching  upon  their 
territory  or  by  leaving  certain  meanings  uncovered. 
Heerdegen's  discussion  of  the  changes  in  the  meaning  of 
dico,  quaeso,  and  rogo,  which  were  caused  by  those  of 
0ro,  is  the  first  investigation  of  such  "induced  "  changes. 
Of  equal  interest  are  the  semantic  changes  of  the  legal 
terms  damnum,  noxia,  culpa,  casus,  and  fortuna,  which 
Voigt 2  has  very  fully  discussed  and  which  are  summa- 
rized in  the  following  table :  — 


LEGAL  TERMS  FOB 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

Legal  Obligation, 

Damage 

Guilt 

Negli- 

Chance 

Trust 

gence 

Older  Period 

damnum 

noxia 

colpa 

casus 

fortooa 

\ 

\ 

\ 

\ 

Ss 

\ 

\ 

4 

\ 

\ 

\  %> 

Later  Period 

•~~— 

damnum 

noxin 

culpa 

casos 

V^y 

1  Cf.  Darmesteter,  Revue  philosophique,  II,  520.    In  La  vie  des  mots 
(4th  ed.,  p.  76)  he  speaks  of  this  gradual  semantic  displacement  as  "en- 
chainement ; "   Wundt  uses  "  Verschiebung "  in  much  the  same  sense 
Logik,  I,2  p.  35  ff.)- 

2  In  Abhandl.  d.   kgl.  sachs.  Akad.  d.   Wiss.,  VI   (1874),  p.  1-160. 
Paul  in  his  article  in  the  Sitz.  Ber.  d.  bayer.  Akademie  (1894),  also  alluded 
to  this  concatenation. 


329 


INDEX 


INDEX 


[The  figures  refer  to  pages] 


Abbreviation  of  compounds,  313. 

Abipoues,  194. 

"  Ablaut,"  285. 

The  Indo-European  "  ablaut " 
e-o,  217. 

Acoustic  confusion  of  sounds,  235. 

Adaptation,  287. 

Of     suffixes     in     congeneric 
classes,   160. 

Addition    of   sounds    through   in- 
crease of  speed,   205. 

Aesthetic  side  of  Wolf's  Philology, 
9,  22. 

Affinity  of  languages,  Hnmboldt, 
Pott,  and  Brugmann  on  the 
proof  of,  36  (note). 
Schlegel  on  the  structural 
affinity  of  the  Indo-Euro- 
pean languages,  36. 

Agglutination,  285,  287. 

Algebraic  notation,  its  use  in  se- 
mantics,  279   (note). 

Allegro  forms,  207. 

"  Alterthumswissenschaft,"  Wolf's, 
6. 

'  Altindogermanisch  "     and     "  ge- 
meinindogermanisch,"  122. 

Ament  on  the  language  of    chil- 
dren, 84. 

Analogy,  Whitney  on,  68  ;  Scherer 

on,  69. 

As  a  methodological  principle, 
69. 


The  facts  of    language  com- 
pared with  the  psychological 
classifications,  155. 
Proportional,  165. 
Analogy    formation,    as    intra-in- 

dividnal  imitation,  149. 
How  different  from  associative 

interference,  154. 
Rests  on  association,  151. 
Analogical  creation,  161,  163. 

Direct  and  inferential,  164. 
Analysis,    method   of   Humboldt's 

structural,  46. 

Of  a  compound  idea  in  speak- 
ing, 280. 

Process  of,  in  destroying  in- 
flectional systems,  318. 
Analytical  treatment  of  philologi- 
cal subjects,  24. 
Anaptyxis,  207. 
Anatomical  changes,  influence  on 

language,  193. 
Anticipation,  225. 

Psychological,  as  the  cauae  of 

"  umlaut,"  229. 

Antiquity  of  a  sound  change  not 
proved  by  its  universal!  ty,  1 22. 
Appellation,  multiple,  defined,  290. 
Apollonios   Dyskolos   on   the    dif- 
ference of  form  and  mean- 
ing, 274. 

On  <J>i/x"^  StdOeffts,  287. 
Arbitrariness,  charge    of,   against 
classification     into     dialect 
groups,  114. 


333 


INDEX 


Archaeology,  prehistoric,  the  value 

of  language  for,  1 30. 
The     defects    of     prehistoric 
archaeology  on    a  linguistic 
basis,  131. 

Artistic    element   in    Wolfs  Phi- 
lology, 15. 
Ascoli  on  the  influence  of   Celtic 

on  Latin,  251. 
.  On    the   choice  of  distinctive 

features  of  a  dialect,  114. 
Aspect,  twofold,  of  linguistic  facts, 

274. 

Aspiration,  emphatic,  214. 
Assimilation,  203,  226. 
Direction  of,  231. 

Associated  sounds,  functional  equiv- 
alence of,  230. 

Association,  basis  of  analogy  for- 
mation, 151. 
Psychology  of,  151. 
Its  importance  for  our  psychi- 
cal economy,  153. 
By  function,  156. 
Of  similar  ideas  into  groups, 

158. 
By  sense  alone  rarely  leads  to 

phonetic  alterations,  1 66. 
Of  words  in  a  phrase,  1 83. 
By  sound  affects  sense,  185. 
By  sound  leads  to  functional 

assimilation,  187. 
Direction    of,    important    in 
learning  a  foreign  language, 
278. 
Of  word  and  thing  is  purely 

external,  306. 

Associative  disturbances,  154. 
Associative  interference,  process  of, 

161. 

Of  one  part  of  a  word  with 
another  part  of  the  same 
word,  223. 

Semantic  changes  due  to,  324. 
Attitude  of  the  speaker,  how  ex- 
pressed, 287. 

"  Ansdrucksform  "  (individuelleand 
generelle),  282. 


B 


Bantu  languages,  their  system  of 
congeneric  groups  of  substan- 
tives, 158. 

Basis  of  articulation,  248. 
Bechtel   on  words  denoting  sense- 
perception,  326. 

Becker,  K.  F.,  his  deductive  meth- 
od, 26. 

Senary  on  semantics,  72. 
Benfey  on  imitation  in  language, 

140. 
On  anatomical  causes  of  sound 

change,  194. 
On  physiognomic  reasons  for 

phonetic  change,  200. 
"  Bewegungsgefiihl,"  247. 
Biographical  conception  of  philology 

(Wolf's),  10. 
Bloomfield  on  adaptation  of  suffixes 

in  congeneric  classes,  160. 
On  haplology,  208. 
On  root  determinatives,  286. 
Boeckh,  his  attitude  toward  Wolf's 

Philology,  12. 
The  place  of  language  in  his 

system  of  philology,  13. 
On  the  place  of  hermeneutics 

and  criticism,  23  (note). 
Boehtlingk  on  anticipation,  225. 
Bopp,   his    Vergleichende    Gram- 

matik,  37. 
The  aim  of   his  comparative 

treatment,  37. 

Regards  language  as  an  inde- 
pendent organism,  57. 
Bourdon  on  constancy  of  adult  pro- 
nunciation, 104. 
Brahmanical  puns,  186. 
Bremer  on  the  relation  of  antiquity 
and  universality  of  changes, 
122. 
On  the  Indo-European  parent 

language,  128. 
On  imitation  in  speech,  142. 
On  articulatory  compensation, 
244. 


334 


INDEX 


Brogue,  247. 

Briicke,  phonetic  works,  33. 

Brugmann    on    phonetic    law,   70 

(note  1),  262. 

On  lack  of  historical  perspec- 
tive in  comparative    recon- 
struction, 120. 
On  composite  comparison,  177. 


Categories,  logical   and  grammat- 
ical, contrasted,  284. 

Centre,  ideal  and  concrete,  in  classi- 
fication, 101. 

Changes,  linguistic,  organic  differ- 
ence of,  135. 

Distinction  between  primary 
(original)  and  secondary  (imi- 
tative), 136. 

Distinction  between  independ- 
ent and  analogical,  150. 

Changes,  phonetic  (see  Phonetic 
changes). 

Changes,  semantic  (see  Semantic 
changes). 

Children,  language  of,  its  value  for 

linguistics,  84. 

Phonetic  changes  due  to  their 
articulatory  compensation, 
243. 

Classification,  methods  of,  99. 

Climate,  influence  of,  on  phonetic 

change,  191. 

Influence  on  strength  of  expi- 
ration, 215. 

Combination  of  two  independent 
words  as  a  means  of  deriva- 
tion, 285. 

Communal  thought,  language  is 
the  expression  of,  82. 

Comparative  grammar,  35. 

Comparative  method,  Schlegel's,  36 ; 
Bopp's,  37  ;  Schleicher's,  39  ; 
Humboldt's,  45 ;  Post's,  49. 

Comparative  philology,  ambiguity 
of  the  term,  50. 


Comparative  reconstruction  of  par- 
ent languages,  possibility  of, 
116. 

Comparative  study  of  languages, 
Schleicher's  threefold  divi- 
sion of,  44  (note). 
Comparative  treatment,  contrasted 
with    the    historical    treat- 
ment, 42. 
The  additional  presumption  or 

inference  in,  43. 

Comparison  of  related  languages, 
35 ;  of  unrelated  languages, 
45. 

Comparison  of  unrelated  languages, 
applied  by  Schleicher  to  pho- 
netics, 50. 

As  a  surrogate  for  experi- 
mentation, 51. 

Compensation,  articulatory,  243. 
Compensative  lengthening,  234. 
Composite  inflection,  174. 

Through    associative     fusion, 

179. 
Composite  nature  of  the  psychical 

content  of  a  word,  298. 
Concepts,  composite  nature  of  our, 

280. 
Concrete  terms  used  for  abstract 

ideas,  326. 

Condensation  of  adjacent  concepts, 
semantic  changes  due  to,  312. 
Congeneric  grouping,  158. 
"  Constitutive  factors  "  of  a  dialect, 

115. 

Contact  languages,  256. 
Contamination,  170. 

The  process  of,  compared  with 
that  of  analogy  formation, 
171. 

In  grammatical  paradigms,  174. 

As  a  means  of  derivation,  286. 

Convention,  social,   as  a  cause  of 

phonetic  change,  1 98. 
Co-operation,  social,  80. 
Criticism,  its  place  in  philology, 
23. 


335 


INDEX 


Curtailed  singulars   (Sweet),   164. 
Curtius  on  composite  verbal  inflec- 
tion, 174. 
On  the  retention  of  significant 

sounds,  210. 
On  phonetic  law,  259. 


D 

Defectiveness,  formal,  of  nouns  or 

verbs,  177. 
Semantic,  of  nouns  and  verbs, 

177. 
Definition,  defects  of  a  descriptive, 

1. 
Delbriick  inaugurates  comparative 

syntax,  74. 
Derivation,  origin  of  the  means  for, 

discussed,  285. 
Descriptive,  words  not   descriptive 

of  things,  306. 
Deterioration  in  the   meanings   of 

words,  313  (with  note  1). 
Determinatives,        root-determina- 
tives, 286. 
Dialect  defined,  108. 

As  a  dynamic   and    a    static 

problem,  91. 

Formation  of  the  concept,  92. 
Ethnological  elements  in  the 

concept,  94. 
Intermediary  zone  between  two 

dialects,  99. 
Expansion  of,  99. 
Naive  recognition  of  dialectal 
pecularities,  109,  110  (note). 
Its  speech-forms  are  a  concrete 

type,  107,  111. 

Any  momentary  utterance  of 
any  member   of  a  dialectal 
unit  may  be  taken  as  a  type 
of  the  dialectal  utterance,  107. 
Charges  of  inexactness  and  ar- 
bitrariness against  classifica- 
tion into  dialect  groups,  113. 
Distinctive  features  of,  114. 
The  historical  element  in  the 


constitution  of  dialect  groups, 
115. 

"Constitutive    factors"    of 
(Kauffmann),  115. 

Dialects,  assimilation  of  neighbor- 
ing, 126. 

Greek,    difficulty    of    classify- 
ing, 116. 

Grimm's  view  of  the  impor- 
tance of,  30,  33. 

Ai/0«(ns,  \l/uxucfl,  287. 

Diathesis,  psycho- physical,  102. 

Didactic  grammar,  88. 

Differences  in  the  Indo-European 
languages  explained  by 
speech  mixture,  249. 

Displacement,  gradual  semantic, 
328,329  (note  1). 

Disposition,  psycho-physical,  102. 
Functional,  153. 

Dissimilation,  232. 
Syllabic,  208. 

Dissimilatory  loss,  232  ;  its  psy- 
chology, 233. 

Dissolution  of  percepts,  semantic 
changes  due  to,  316. 

Dobrizhoffer  on  linguistic  taboo, 
304  (note). 

Dominant  element  in  word  mean- 
ing, 305. 

Linguistically  expressed  or  un- 
expressed, 310. 

Usurps  whole  semantic  sphere, 
311. 

Dynamic  problems,  34. 

E 

E,the  Indo-European  ablaut  e-o,217. 

Ear,  trained  for  a  limited  number 
of  sounds  only,  237. 

"  Easy  "  and  "  difficult  "  as  applied 
to  speech  sounds,  204. 

Effort,  economy  of,  203. 

Elements  of  a  complex  idea  ex- 
pressed in  speech,  283. 

Emotional  element  in  words,  298. 
Sources  of,  299. 


336 


INDEX 


Its  bearing  on  oratory,  302. 
Its  bearing  on  style,  303. 
Empty  nominatives,  290. 

Verb-forms,  292. 
"  Enchamement, "  329  (note  1). 
Ending  (see  Inflectional  endings). 
"  Entgleisung,"  161. 
Erdmann    on    the   emotional   ele- 
ments in  words,  298  (note  4). 
Ethnological  sound  change,  252. 
Etymology,  popular,  185. 

Its  value  for  semantic  investi- 
gations, 307. 
Eucken  on  the  conception  of  law, 

266. 

Euphemism,  304. 
Expansion  of  a  dialect,  99. 

J.  Schmidt's  theory  of  gradual 
expansion  of  the  Indo-Euro- 
peans,  125. 

Experiment,   comparison   of   unre- 
lated languages  in  placeof,5l. 
Explanation  of  linguistic  facts  to 
be  sought  in  psychology,  82. 


Fashion  in  dress  and  speech  com- 
pared, 145. 

Foreign  sounds,  inability  to  hear 
them  correctly,  240. 

Form,   differentiated    from   mean- 
ing, 274. 
Linguistic,  defined,  276. 

Formal  side  of  speech,  preponder- 
ance of,  55. 

Formative  value,  removal  of  pho- 
netic differences  which  have 
no,  169. 

Freedom  of  individual  as  regards 
language,  81,  147. 

Frequency  of  sounds,  statistics  on, 

219. 

Of  a  sound  combination   need 
not  be  absolute,  231. 

Frequency  of  use,  its  phonetic  in- 
fluence, 209. 
22  337 


"  Function  "  and  "  meaning"  com- 
pared, 293. 

Functional  assimilation  through 
association  by  sound,  187. 

Functional  equivalence  of  asso- 
ciated sounds,  229. 

Fusion,  associative,  leads  to  com- 
posite inflection,  179. 


G 


"  Gefiihlswerth, "  289  (note  4). 

Geldner  and  Pischel,  on  "philo- 
logical" method  in  lexicog- 
raphy, 308. 

"  Gemeinindogermanisch  "  and  "  alt- 
indogermanisch,"  122. 

Genealogical  tree,  Schleicher's,  of 
the  Indo  -  European  lan- 
guages, 123. 

General  notions,  indistinct,  322. 

General  terms,  want  of,  in  the  vo- 
cabularies of  savages,  319. 
Colloquially  used  for  particular 
terms,  323. 

Germanic  permutation  of  mutes, 
211. 

Gesture  language,  its  value  for 
linguistics,  85. 

Goethe  on  imitation  in  speech,  141. 
On   similarity   of    fashion    in 
dress  and  speech,  145. 

Grammar,  compromise  with  logic 
in  the  case  of  the  "  imper- 
sonal "  verbs,  293. 

Grammatical  and  logical  catego- 
ries contrasted,  284. 

Grammont  on  dissimilation,  232. 

Grandgent  and  Sheldon  on  articu- 
latory  compensation,  243. 

Grimm,  J.,  philological  representa- 
tive of  Romanticism,  9. 
His  application  of  the  histori- 
cal method  to  grammar,  28. 
His  relation  to  Savigny,  28. 
Considers    language   a   social 
product,  29. 


INDEX 


His  view  of  dialects,  30. 
Gives    prominence  to  phonol- 
ogy, 30. 

Grimm's  law  discussed,  211. 
Groeber,  introduces  the  historical 
element  in  the  study  of  dia- 
lects, 115. 


H 

Habitual  sound  combinations  sub- 
stituted for  unfamilar  ones, 
218. 

Haplology,  208. 

Hausa,  as  type  of  a  contact  lan- 
guage, 257. 

Hearing,  its  influence  on  phonetic 

change,  235. 

Inability  to  hear  foreign  sounds 
correctly,  240. 

Heerdegen  on  composite  inflection, 
176. 

Helmholtz  on  articulatory  compen- 
sation of  children,  243. 

Hempl  on  the  indirect  influence  of 

race  mixture,  192. 
On  the  bearing  of  race  mixture 
on    the     differentiation    of 
speech,  253. 

Herbart,  his  influence  on  Steinthal, 
67. 

Heredity,  psychical,  made  possible 
through  language,  82. 

Hermann,  G.,  his  analytical  treat- 
ment of  language,  25. 
His  method,  26. 
Historical  method  in,  27. 

Hermeneutics,  their  place  in  philol- 
ogy, 23. 

Hirt  on  the  ethnological  causes 
of  Indo-European  speech  dif- 
ferentiation, 252. 

Historical  method,  27. 

In  Hermann  and  Wolf,  27. 
Grimm's  application  of  it   to 

grammar,  28. 
Furnishes  no  explanation,  82. 


Historical  school  in  jurisprudence, 

28  (note). 
Historical  treatment  compared  with 

comparative  treatment,  42. 
Humanistic  movement,  6. 
Humboldt,    his     investigation     of 
structural  differences  in  va- 
rious languages  and  of  the 
relation  of  speech  to  thought, 
45. 
His   comparison  of  unrelated 

languages,  45. 

Method  of  his  structural  anal- 
ysis, 46. 

His  "  speech  ideal,"  47. 
His  view  of  language   as  an 

independent  organism,  57. 
On  speech  mixture,   250. 
Hyperaeolicism,  149. 
Hyperdoricism,  149. 


Ideas,  composite  nature  of  our,  280. 
Idea,  complex,    elements    of,  ex- 
pressed in  speech,  283. 
Imitation  as  a  sociological  factor, 

89,  137. 
Involuntary  and  unconscious, 

271. 

In tra-in  dividual   and  extra-in- 
dividual, 149. 

In  language,  instances,  141. 
Its    role  in  phonetic  change, 

144. 

Of  single  sounds,  148. 
Imitative  changes,  136,  271." 
Imitative  expansion  of  a  dialect,  99. 
Impersonal  verbs,  Stohr  on,  291. 
Inaudible    movements    of    speech 

organs,  237. 

Increase  of  force  of  expired  cur- 
rent changes  sonants  to 
surds,  213. 

Indo-European  languages,  Sir  Wil- 
liam Jones'  discovery  of 
their  affinity,  35. 


338 


INDEX 


Indo-European  parent  language, 
Schleicher's  reconstruction 
of,  39. 

"  Induced  "  semantic  changes,  329. 

Inexactness,  charge  of,  against 
classification  into  dialect 
groups,  112. 

"  Infiltration,"  254. 

Inflection,  composite,  1 74. 

Destroyed  by  a  process  of  anal- 
ysis, 318. 

Polysynthetic  character  of, 
in  the  Indo-European  lan- 
guages, 275. 

Inflectional  endings,  their  meaning 
depends  on  surroundings  and 
on  the  meaning  of  the  stems 
to  which  they  are  joined, 
316. 

Influence  of  language  in  shaping 
the  thought  of  the  next  gen- 
eration, 81. 

"Inner  speech-form,"  Humboldt's, 
61. 

"Internal  speech,"  298  (note  1). 

Intonation  as  a  lexicographical  and 
syntactical  means  of  expres- 
sion, 277. 

Intra-verbal  interference,  223. 


Jacobi,  Th.,  his  phonetic  explana- 
tion of  vowel  strengthening, 
31  (note). 
On  German  "  umlaut,"  224. 

St.  Jerome  on  change  in  Latin,  135. 

Jodl  on  the  relation  of  the  com- 
pound to  its  parts  in  psychol- 
ogy, 280  (note). 

Jones,  Sir  William,  his  discovery  of 
the  affinity  of  the  Indo-Euro- 
pean languages,  35. 
On  speech  mixture  in  the  Indo- 
European  languages,  249. 

Juristic  canons  for  the  interpreta- 
tion of  words,  307. 


Kauffmaun  on  "  constitutive  fac- 
tors "of  a  dialect,  115. 

Kosinna  on  prehistoric  archaeology, 
131  (note  3),  133. 

Kretschmer  distinguishes  between 
"  gemeinindogermanisch" 
and  "  altindogermauisch," 
122. 

On     prehistoric     archaeology, 
131  (note  3),   133. 


Lange  on  the  place  of  hermeneu- 

tics  and  criticism,  23  (note). 

Inaugurates  historical  syntax, 

74. 
Language,  ambiguity  of  the  term, 

112. 
Its  place  in  Wolf's  and  Boeckh's 

system  of  philology,  13. 
As  a  social  product,  29. 
As  an  independent  organism, 
56 ;  this    theory     attacked, 
58. 
As  expression    of    communal 

thought,  82. 
What  must   be  expressed  in, 

280. 
Language-forms  are    ideal  types, 

111. 
"  Lautverschiebung,"  in  Germanic, 

211. 
Law,  Eucken  on  the  conception  of, 

266. 
Laws,  phonetic,  55,  258.     (See  also 

Phonetic  law.) 

Lengthening,  compensative,  234 . 
Lento  forms,  207. 
Leskien  and  the  neo-grammarian 

movement,  69. 
On    Schleicher's   genealogical 

tree,  123. 

On  ease  of  pronunciation,  205. 
On  phonetic  law,  259. 
Levelling  due  to  association,  168. 


339 


INDEX 


Lexicography,  position  in  the  divi- 
sion of  grammar,  275  (note). 

Linguistics,  relation  of,  to  psychol- 
ogy, 82. 

"  Linguistic  "  and  "  philological  " 
method  in  lexicography  con- 
trasted, 308. 

Lloyd  against  articulatory  com- 
pensation, 244. 

Logic,  compromise  with  grammar 
in  the  case  of  the  "  imper- 
sonal "  verbs,  293. 

Logical  and  grammatical  categories 
contrasted,  284. 

Logical  and  psychological  aspect 
of  semantic  problems  con- 
trasted, 297. 

Loss  of  sounds  due  to  increase  of 

SD66(1    201* 

Of  not  significant  elements  of 

a  word,  210. 
Dissimilatory,  232. 
Rousselot  on  "sons  disparais- 

sants,"  238. 
Lotze  on  anatomical  causes  of  sound 

change,  193. 


M 

March  on  compensative  lengthen- 
ing, 234. 

Material,  raw,  out  of   which  lan- 
guage is  fashioned,  274. 

"Meaning"  and  "function"  com- 
pared, 293. 

Meaning  differentiated  from  form, 

274. 

Of  inflectional  endings  depends 
on  surroundings  and  on  the 
meaning  of  the  stems  to 
which  they  are;  joined,  317. 

Mechanical  sound  change,  201. 

Meringer    and    Mayer    on    "  Ver- 
sprechen  und  Verlesen,"  162. 

Merkel,  phonetic  works,  33. 

Metaleptic  transposition,  226. 


Metaphors,  their  danger  in  scien- 
tific terminology,  59. 
Faded,  in  language,  326. 

Metathesis,  226. 

Metathesis  of  quantity  (in  Greek), 
227. 

Method,  analytic  and  synthetic,  5. 

Method,  Wundt's  "  individuelle  " 
and  "  generische  Methode," 
6  (note). 

Method,  subjective  and  objective 
methods  of  investigation,  95. 

Migration,  Schleicher's  theory  of 
migration  of  the  Indo-Euro- 
peaus,  125. 

Mixture,  speech  mixture,  as  an  ex- 
planation of  the  differences 
in  the  Indo-European  lan- 
guages, 253.  (See  also 
Speech  mixture.) 

Modification,  phonetic,  of  a  word  to 
express  a  compound  concept, 
285. 

Morphological  aspect,  275  (with 
note). 

Morphological  parts,  their  differ- 
ence from  words,  277. 

Morphology,  preponderance  of,  55. 

Morphology,  meaning  of  the  term, 
276. 

Motory  sensations,  298. 

Movements,  inaudible,  of  speech 
organs,  237. 

Miiller,  F.,  on  fashion  in  dress  and 
speech,  145. 


N 

Name  as  a  grammatical  term,  de- 
fined, 283. 

Names  of  things,  derived  from 
qualities  ?  306. 

Naming,  original  process  of,  306. 

Natural  sciences,  affiliation  of  lin- 
guistics with,  52 ;  reasons  for 
this,  53. 

Neo-grammarian  movement,  55. 


340 


INDEX 


Neo-grammarians  contrast  physi- 
ological phonetic  laws  with 
psychological  analogy  forma- 
tions, 264. 

Neo-Humanism,  Wolf  the  philologi- 
cal representative  of,  9. 

Nominativus,  casus,  lack  of  a  real 
naming  case  in  the  Indo-Eu- 
ropean languages,  290. 

Noreen  on  normative  grammar,  88. 
His  canon  for  normative  gram- 
mar, 90. 

Normative  grammar,  87 ;  justifica- 
tion and  place  of,  88. 

Novel,  German  historical,  22  (note). 

o 

0,  the  Indo-European  "  ablaut "  e-o, 
217. 

Objective  knowledge  defined,  95. 

Oldenberg  on  "  philological  "  meth- 
od in  lexicography,  308. 

Order  of  sounds  and  words,  274. 
As  a  lexicographical  and  syn- 
tactical means  of  expression, 
276. 

Organic  basis,  248. 

"  Organic  doctrine,"  Romantic  re- 
vival of,  56. 

Organism,  language  considered  as 
an  independent,  56. 

Oscillation,  semantic  changes  due 
to,  309. 

Osthoff  on  Suppletivwesen,  174. 
On  modification  of  vocal  organs 
as    a    cause    for    phonetic 
change,  197. 

On  ease  of  pronunciation,  204. 
On  phonetic  law,  263. 


Panini  on  division  of   grammar, 

276  (note). 

Parent  languages,  is  a  comparative 

reconstruction  possible  ?  117. 

As    now   reconstructed,    how 


different  from  Schleicher's, 
117. 

Absence  of  historical  perspec- 
tive in  the  reconstruction 
of,  118. 

Particular  terms,  literary  language 
richer  in,  than  everyday 
speech,  323. 

Paul  on  the  relation  of  antiquity  and 
universality  of  changes,  122. 

On  anatomical  causes  for  the 
similarity  of  sounds  among 
members  of  the  same  dialect, 
195. 

On  variability  of  pronunciation 
in  the  adult,  246. 

His  definition  of  a  sentence, 

281    (note). 
Pauses,  274. 

Penka  on  the  ethnological  causes 
of  Indo-European  speech  dif- 
ferentiation, 252. 

"  Philological  "  and  "  linguistic  " 
method  in  lexicography  con- 
trasted, 308. 

Philology,  Wolf's  synthetic  con- 
ception of,  6. 

Philosophy,  emancipation  of  gram- 
mar from,  52. 
Phonetic  change,  189. 

Different  kinds  of,  189. 

Immediate  and  ultimate  causes 
of,  190. 

Due  to  imitation,  142,  144. 

Influence  of  climate  on,  191. 

Anatomical  reasons  for,  193. 

How  far  due  to  a  modifi- 
cation of  the  vocal  organs, 
196. 

As  result  of  modifications  of 
the  cerebral  centres,  197. 

Social  conventions  as  a  cause 
of,  198. 

Gradual  phonetic  change,  246. 

Preservation  or  restoration  of 
sounds  through  association? 
264  (note). 

Utilized  for  derivation,  285. 


341 


INDEX 


Phonetic  law,  55,  258. 
Defined,  261. 
Physiological    conception    of, 

263. 

Physiological  theory  of,  criti- 
cised, 270. 

Mechanical  sound  laws,  69. 
Pott  and  Paul  on,  55. 
Brugmann  and  Osthoff  on,  70 

(note  1). 
Scherer's  attitude  toward,   69 

(note  2). 
One-sidedness  of  the  neo-gram- 

marians  regarding,  70. 
Phonetics,  beginnings  of,  31. 

Jacobi's  phonetic  explanation 
of  vowel  strengthening,  31 
(note). 
Scherer  complains  of  disregard 

of,  33. 

Place  in  the  division  of  gram- 
mar, 275  (note). 
Phonology,  prominence  in  Grimm's 

grammar,  30. 
Pott's     insistence     on     strict 

method  in,   54. 
Preponderance  of,  55. 
Physical   expansion    of  a  dialect, 

99. 
Physiological  conception  of  phonetic 

laws,  263. 

Pipping   on    articulatory    compen- 
sation, 244. 

Pischel   and    Geldner    on   "  philo- 
logical" method  in  lexicog- 
raphy, 308. 
Pitch,  274. 
Pitch  accent,  its  influence  on  vowel 

color,  216. 

Polybius  on  change  in  Latin,  134. 
Polysynthesis    of    the    Indo-Euro- 
pean languages,  289. 
Its  defects,  289. 
Its  effect  on  Hies'  division  of 

grammar,  275. 
Powell  on,  275. 

Post,   his   comparative   method  in 
jurisprudence,  49. 


Pott,  insists  on  strict  method  in 
phonology,  54. 

Powell  on  polysynthesis,  275. 

Preservation  of  sounds  due  to 
association,  264  (note). 

Proklos  on  proportional  analogy, 
165. 

Proleptic  transposition,  226. 

Proportional  analogy,  165. 

Psyche,  character  of  the  social,  77. 

VVXIK*!  SidOfffts,  287. 

Psychological  view  of  language,  60. 

Psychology,  Steinthal  and  the  psy- 
chological treatment  of  lan- 
guage, 60. 

Causes  which  led  to  a  psycho- 
logical treatment  of  speech, 
68. 

Relation  to  syntax,  73. 
Relation  of  linguistics  to,  82. 
Explanation  of  linguistic  facts 
to  be  sought  in,  82. 

Physiognomic  reasons  for  phonetic 
change,  200. 

Q 

Qualification,  Powell  on  the  ex- 
pression of,  by  inflection, 
275. 

R 

Race  mixture,  indirect  influence 
on  language,  192. 

Ratzel  on  the  mechanism  of  mi- 
gration, 253. 

Raumer,  R.,  emphasizes  impor- 
tance of  phonetics,  31. 

"  Recepts,"  322. 

Reconstruction  of  parent  languages, 

possibility  of,  116. 
The  real  value  of  comparative, 

129. 

Schleicher's,  of  the  Indo-Euro- 
pean parent  language,  39. 

Redistribution  of  the  meaning  of 
a  consolidated  phrase  over 


342 


INDEX 


the  members  which  compose 
it,  315. 

Eeformation,  its  influence  on  Hu- 
manism, 7. 

Regularity  in  language  first  per- 
ceived in  phonology,  55. 

Reisig  on  semantics,  71. 

Relation,  Powell  on  the  expression 
of,  by  inflection,  275. 

Relation  of  members  of  an  utter- 
ance to  each  other,  how  ex- 
pressed, 288. 

Removal  of  not  significant  differ- 
ences, 169. 

Repetition,  transpositive,  of  sounds, 
225. 

Repetition  of  compounds  leads  to 
abbreviation,  314. 

Reproduction  of  speech  sounds  by 
children,  242  ;  by  foreigners, 
247. 

Retention  of  significant  sounds, 
210. 

Revaluation  of  words,  305. 

Reversal  of  an  unfamiliar  sound 
combination,  221. 

Ries  on  the  division  of  grammar, 
274. 

Romanes' •"  recepts,"  322  (note  2). 

Romantic  revival  of  "  organic  doc- 
trine," 56. 

Romanticism,  Grimm  the  philo- 
logical representative  of,  9. 

Root,  ambiguity  of  the  term, 
283. 

Root-determinatives,  Bloomfield  on, 
286. 

Roots,  their  meaning  the  result  of 

logical  operation,  308. 
Concrete    meaning    of    early, 
174,  320. 

Rousselot   on  constancy  of   adult 

pronunciation,  104. 
His  "hypothese    d'une    sorte 
d'ane'mie        d  e  s       centres 
nerveux,"  197. 
On  "  sons  disparaissants,"  238. 


S 

Savigny,  his  definition  of  the  his- 
torical method,  28. 
His  influence  on  Grimm,  28. 
Schematic  aspect  of  language,  274 

(note  2). 

Schematology,  276  (note). 
Scherer,  complains  of  disregard  of 

phonetics,  33. 
His  attitude  toward  phonetic 

laws,  69  (note  2). 
On  analogy  formation,  150. 
On     anatomical    causes     for 

sound  change,  195. 
On    the    influence    of    pitch 

accent  on  vowel  color,  215. 
On  "  umlaut,"  228. 
On  speech  mixture,  251. 
Schlegel,  F.,  the  aim  of  his  com- 
parative treatment,  36. 
On  the  phonetic  effect  of  fre- 
quency of  use,  209. 
On  speech  mixture  in  the  Indo- 
European  languages,  250. 
Schleicher,  reconstructs  Indo-Euro- 
pean parent  language,  39. 
Applies    the    comparison     of 
unrelated  languages  to  pho- 
netics, 50. 
Classes  linguistics  among  the 

natural  sciences,  53. 
Regards  language  as  a  natural 

organism,  58. 

Schmidt,  J.,  on  lack  of  historical 
perspective  in    comparative 
reconstruction,  119,  121. 
His  view  of  the  Indo-European 

parent  language,  127. 
His  wave  theory,  124. 
On  fashion  in  dress  and  speech, 

145. 

Schrader   on  prehistoric   archaeol- 
ogy, 131  (notes  1  and  3). 
Schuchardt's  wave  theory,  123. 

On    uniformity    of    phonetic 

laws,  268. 
"Schwingende  Vorstellungen,"  224. 


343 


INDEX 


Semantic  aspect,  275  (with  note). 
Semantic  change,  274. 

Due  to  oscillation,  309. 
Due  to  condensation  of  adja- 
cent concepts,  312. 
Due  to  dissolution  of  percepts, 

316. 
Due  to  associative  interference, 

324. 

Due  to  speech  mixture,  324. 
Due  to  transfer,  324. 
Gradual     semantic     displace- 
ment, 328,  329  (note). 
"  Induced  "  semantic  changes, 

329. 
Semantics  (see  also  Word-semantics 

and  Semasiology). 
Beginnings  of,  70. 
Reisig  on,  71  ;  Senary  on,  72. 
The  value  of  etymology  for, 

307. 
Semasiology,  province  of,  278. 

Meaning  of  the  term  discussed, 

278. 

General  and  particular   prob- 
lems of,  279. 

Sentence,  Paul's  definition  of,  281. 
As  starting  point  of  syntactical 

investigation,  280  (note). 
Expressions  which  are  not  sen- 
tences, 290. 

Sentence  structure  the  linguistic  ex- 
pression of  the  analysis  and 
articulation  of  a  compound 
idea,  281. 
Sheldon  and  Grandgent  on  articula- 

tory  compensation,  243. 
Significance     differentiated    from 

form,  274. 
Significant   sounds,    retention    of, 

210. 

"  Silbenschichtung,"  208. 
Social  character  of  language,  Hnm- 
boldt  on,  75 ;  Steinthal  on,  75. 
Social  co-operation,  80. 
Social  problems  of  linguistics,  80. 
Social  product,  language  as  a,  29. 
Social  value  of  language,  81. 


Sonant  turns  surd  through  increase 

of  expiratory  force,  213. 
Sound  substitution  unduly  extend- 
ed, 149. 

Speaking  compared  to  writing,  281. 
Its  relation    to    thinking,    317 

(with  note). 
Speaking    a   language  contrasted 

with  understanding  it,  278. 
Speech  mixture,  association  in,  166. 
Semantic  changes  due  to,  324 

(with  note). 

As  a  factor  in  the  differentia- 
tion of    the    Indo-European 
languages,  252. 
Speed  as    a    factor    in     phonetic 

change,  201. 

Increase    of,     causes    loss    of 
sounds,  201 ;    produces    ad- 
ditional sounds,  202. 
Spelling,   influence  on   pronuncia- 
tion, 240. 

Stability  of  the  adult's  pronuncia- 
tion, 104. 
Standard  of  speech,  how  obtained, 

87. 
Statistics  on  frequency  of  sounds, 

219. 

v.  d.  Steinen  on  the  inability  of  the 
Baka'iri  Indians  to  hear  "  f,1' 
240. 

On  the  want  of  general  terms 
in   the    vocabulary    of    the 
Baka'iri  Indians,  319. 
Steinthal,    Humboldt's     successor, 

60. 

Places  linguistics  upon  a  defi- 
nite psychological  basis,  61. 
On  Hnmboldt's  "innere  Sprach- 

form,"  61  (note). 
His    advance     beyond    Hum- 

boldt,  61. 

Recognizes  the  difference  of 
psychical  phenomena  of 
speech  from  those  exhibited 
by  the  single  individual,  75. 
On  "  schwingende  Vorstellun- 
gen,"  244. 


344 


INDEX 


Stern  on  the  emotional   elements 

in  words,  298  (note  3). 
Stress,  274. 

Stressed  and  unstressed  syllables, 
difference    in    phonetic    de- 
velopment, 215. 
Strieker  on  dissimilatory  loss,  233. 

On  motory  sensations,  298. 
Subject,  its  dominating  role  in  the 
Indo  -  European       sentence 
structure,  290. 
Subjective  knowledge  defined,  95; 

and  characterized,  96. 
Substitution  of  a  familiar  for  an  un- 
familiar sound  combination, 
222. 

Suggestion  as  a  social  factor,  138. 
Superimposition,  syllabic,  208. 
"  Suppletivwesen,"  174. 
Svarabhakti,  207,  221. 
Syllabic    division,    importance  of, 

202,   220. 

Syllabic  syncope,  207. 
Symbolism,  sound-symbolism,  328. 
Symbolists,  French,  328  (note  2). 
Symbols,    linguistic,    division    of, 

283. 

Synaesthesia,  psychological  litera- 
ture on,  327  (note  2). 
Syncope,  207. 

Syllabic,  207. 
Syntax,  neglect  of,  54. 

Its  relation  to  psychology,  73. 
Comparative,  74. 
Historical,  74. 
Synthetic  and  analytical  treatment 

contrasted,  24. 
Synthetic    nature    of    Wolf's 

philology,  14. 
Synthetic  process  in  hearing,  281. 


Taboo  in  lexicography,  304  (with 

note). 

Tarde  on  imitation,  137. 
Tempo,  274. 


Tendency,  synthetic  and  analytic, 

in  the  historical  sciences,  5. 
Terminology,  want  of  an  adequate, 

for  Ries'  divisions  of  gram- 
mar, 275. 
Thinking,  its  relation  to  speaking, 

317  (with  note). 
Tobler  on  composite  and  defective 

inflection,  176,  178. 
On  the  emotional  elements  in 

words,   298    (note   2). 
Tourtual  on  anatomical  differences 

in  different  races,  195. 
Transfer  of  terms  from  one  sense 

sphere  to  another  327  (with 

note  2). 
Of  the  name  of  one  concept  to 

another,  324. 
Transmission  of  speech,  phonetic 

changes  in,  235. 
Transposition,  proleptic  and  meta- 

leptic,  226. 
Transpositive  repetition  of  sounds, 

225. 
Type  in  classification,  101. 

U 

"  Umlaut,"  224,  227. 

"  Umwerthung,"  305. 

Understanding  a  language  con- 
trasted with  speaking  it, 
278. 

Unification  of  the  compound  psychi- 
cal content  of  a  word,  305. 

Uniformity,  in  language,  81. 

Degree  of,  in  phonetic  changes, 

267. 

Of  phonetic  change,  its  origin 
physical  or  psychical  ?  269. 

Unity  of  a  science,  how  determined, 
3. 

Universality  of  a  sound  change  no 
proof  of  its  antiquity,  122. 


Variability  of  pronunciation  in  the 
adult,  246. 


345 


INDEX 


Variations,  perceptible  and  imper- 
ceptible, in  speech,  104,  108. 

Verb,  personal,  peculiar  character 
of  the,  in  Indo-European  and 
Semitic,  292. 

"  Verschiebung,"  329  (note  1). 

Vierkandt  on  the  inability  of  sav- 
ages to  form  general  con- 
cepts, 319. 

Vocal  organs,  modification  of,  as  a 
cause  of  sound  change,  196. 

Voigt,  on  "induced"  semantic 
changes,  329. 

"  Volkerpyschologie,"  Steinthal's, 
76. 

"  Volksetymologie,"  186. 

Vowel  color,  dependent  on  pitch 
accent,  216. 

W 

Wave  theory  of  Schuchardt  and  J. 

Schmidt,  123. 

Wheeler,  B.  I.,  on  analogy,  155. 
Whitney  on  analogy,  68. 

On  economy  of  effort,  203. 
On  the  loss  of    unnecessary 

sounds,  210. 

On    uniformity    of    phonetic 
changes  in  the  spoken  lan- 
guage,  268. 
Windisch's   work    in   comparative 

syntax,  74. 
Wolf,  F.  A.,   his     conception    of 

philology,  6. 
His   definition    of    philology, 

9  (note). 

Philological  representative  of 
Neo- Humanism,  9. 


His  system  of  philology,  10 
(note). 

Synthetic  nature  of  his  philol- 
ogy, 13. 

The  place  of  language  in  his 
system  of  philology,  13. 

Artistic  element  in  his  philol- 
ogy, 15. 

The  public  to  which  his  philol- 
ogy is  addressed,  18. 

Difficulties  in  his  system,  1 9. 

His  conception  of  philology 
applied  to  modern  nations, 
20  (note  3). 

The  danger  of  disintegration 
inhis  system  of  philology,  21. 

Historical  method  in,  27. 
Word,    composite    nature    of   the 

psychical  content  of,   297. 
Word-semantics,    classification    of 
the     work     done     in,     296 
(note  4). 

"  Wort "  and  "  Ausserung  "  con- 
trasted  by  Wechssler,   282 
(note). 
Writing  compared  with  speaking, 

281. 

Writing,  the  value  of  the  study  of 
handwriting  for  linguistics, 
85. 

Wundt  on  Steinthal's  "  Vo'lker- 
psychologie  "  and  on  Paul's 
"  Principien,"  67  (note). 

On  social  convention  as  a  cause 
of  sound  changes,  198. 

On  "  ease  of  pronunciation," 
205. 

On  Germanic  permutation  of 
mutes,  211. 


346 


A     000  657  656 


